


The Missing Piece

by AndyWBlackstorn



Series: Through Chrissie's eyes (alternative universe) [14]
Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domestic Fluff, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family, Family Drama, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Romance, Through Chrissie's eyes, through Chrissie's eyes verse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2020-03-17 09:07:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 45
Words: 58,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18962182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndyWBlackstorn/pseuds/AndyWBlackstorn
Summary: Apparently Dominique Beyrand and Roger Taylor had perfect lives, although they were relatively young adults, they had achieved successful careers and nothing seemed to go wrong, now that everything had worked out, but they had something else in common, they felt there was a missing piece to their lives. All they had to do was find each other. (it takes place in the alternative universe of Through Chrissie's Eyes).





	1. Just one day of work

**Author's Note:**

> This story is set primarily as a work of fiction, inspired by the life and work of the band Queen and its members, stories and facts that were part of their trajectory, as well as the adapted version featured in the movie "Bohemian Rhapsody."
> 
> "The Missing Piece" is part of the universe of "Through Chrissie's eyes", both are fundamentally based on the version of the film and its fictional version of the members of Queen, structuring mainly in the narrative line of the film.
> 
> It is understood that a work of fiction grants some creative freedoms, and is using poetic license, and exploring hypothetical situations that I decided to modify real facts for the story, setting it up as an alternative universe.
> 
> However, despite the changes, it is understood that the characters remain faithful to what has already been established within their personalities, changing some aspects and events. Still, it is worth mentioning that I maintain respect for events that have happened to Queen members in real life, and it is up to readers to view real life as something quite different from this work of fiction. Once again I point out, the characters' version of the story is fictional, not being completely related to the actual people represented.

There weren't many expectations of what would happen that day and that was why Dominique's mind had no specific thoughts as she climbed the elevator. Even if she woke up early and prepared herself in advance for the long subway ride from her apartment to the office of producer Richard Branson in central London, she would rather buy a coffee on the way to work as she had her drink on the way there helping her to focus and prepare for the tasks that were yet to come.

Knowing she was near her floor, she took her last sip of coffee, emptied the plastic cup, discarding it as she left the elevator in the nearest dump. She was glad to see her desk waiting for her. It could be something very common, but for her, it was a great achievement to have gotten this job and to perform her duties there. She had left everything organized, being competent as ever, the papers and documents she was still organizing on the day before were waiting for her to continue cataloging them. That was what she would concentrate on doing, until something new for her to come up.

She sat down and started working, reading and separating files, answering the phone occasionally, scheduling appointments for people who wanted to talk to Branson. So far, nothing more, it was then that the phone rang and it was he who was speaking.

"Something has happened, Mr. Branson?" she answered, already going ahead for a possible problem.

"Nothing, just something I need to get right with you personally, so come to my office immediately, Miss. Beyrand" Branson asked polite, but he was serious.

Dominique soon got up and thought quickly about the situation, decided not to take great care of it, maybe it was just a little more complicated work she would have to do, but nothing impossible. As the years taught her, she didn't have to worry with anticipation, not knowing what she was dealing with first.

"May I help sir?" she offered helpfully, as soon as she found her boss in the office.

"Well, we're negotiating a show in Hyde Park, with the band Queen," Richard went on to explain, "have you heard of it?

"Not very well, yo be honest," Dominique replied, remembering seeing glimpses of them on TV, but didn't know them that well.

"Yeah, I don't think that's a big problem," Branson mused with a hand on his chin, "I just need you to arrange each individual contract for me to refer to the band's manager today, arrived by fax, take a look."

"Okay, I get it," she smiled, realizing that it was not at all complicated at all "any further recommendations, sir?"

"Well, keep your stance as usual when dealing with artists and it'll be all right," Branson said confidently, trusting his assistant.

"Thank you, Mr. Branson" Dominique smiled pleased with the compliments and then left her boss to do what he had requested.

Looking at the fax machine, she noticed the papers that had just arrived. Then she read one by one carefully, making notes about them. Just reading the names of the members of the band, she could form a certain image of how they were in her head.

"Frederick Mercury", there was a little side note, with "Freddie" in parentheses. She then deduced that he might prefer his nickname. The second name was "John Richard Deacon", then "Brian Harold May", also bearing in the document the name of his wife, Christine. By the way, he was the only married of the four members, only needed to check the last file to confirm this.

Then she read the name "Roger Meddows Taylor", also single. He had a strangely curious second name, as if it was from a traditional family. Maybe he was like that too, or maybe not, Dominique was only conjectured. Perhaps the four were somewhat irreverent for being part of a rock band, but perhaps not so much, since one of them was married. Just because of these speculations, Dominique felt the need to meet Queen more, just to be sure who she was dealing with.

Her shift finally ended at 5:00 pm, and bidding farewell to her boss, promising to see him the next day, Dominique left the office and began her long journey to home. That had been her home for the past eight years, since she had left France for college in London, and even with excellent grades and a degree in International Relations, Dominique ended up getting the job of Branson's personal assistant. It wasn't such a bad thing to have a job completely out of her training area, not that it was totally out because she had to deal with different people all the time. However, what made her enjoy the work was being able to work a little with music, it was one of her passions, and listening to different artists created a varied taste for music. That was also why she decided to do something on the way home.

Thanks to her tastes as well as her work, she knew which was the best record store between the office and her apartment. She stopped in a "Latest Hits," which seemed decent enough for Dominique. She looked the store's records and, to her surprise, soon found what she wanted.

The disc had a black cover, the title "Queen II" highlighted in white, but what caught her attention were the four slightly spooky faces. It was the first time she had seen more clearly the clients she would meet the next day. Fun as always, her mind played around trying to guess who was who, she felt a strong hunch that Freddie could only be the one with his hands folded across his chest.

"Um ... sir?" Dominique turned to the attendant "do you know if there are any other Queen albums? If this is the two, I imagine you have the one."

She completed with a mischievous smile, which made the boy cheer to get up from his comfortable seat and look for what she had requested. It wasn't long before Dominique had the three Queen albums in her hands. She paid for them and took them home. Her rest from the long day's work was to lie down on her little sofa, which fit her perfectly, and focus on the band's songs.

At first, Dominique thought those lyrics didn't make much sense, but they were interesting and the four boys were quite talented. In certain passages where her ears caught high pitched voices, she wondered if there was any girl in the band. In the end, she ended up becoming more fond of the simpler songs like "Modern Times Rock'n Roll" and "Tenement Funster" for having more understandable themes. Overall, Queen had made a good impression on Dominique just because of their songs, she still had to know what they were like in person.


	2. At Branson's office

As much as he was already awake, Roger was determined to stay in his bed a little longer. There he was so comfortable and he had no commitments in the morning that he thought it wouldn't hurt to doze off a little longer. That's what he did, and about 15 minutes later, his hunger was what made him wake up.

Looking at himself in the mirror, he wasn't astonished by his relatively long hair all messy and creepy. It was harder to comb and care for it in that size, but his vanity wouldn't let him cut it. This was the fashion of the time and the fact of being a rock star, which required as a requirement to have a hair large enough to swing to the sound of the frenetic pace.

Getting ready quickly, he rummaged through his refrigerator, finding ingredients for a sandwich. It wasn't the proper breakfast, but it wasn't bad either. Worse would be if he wanted to eat pizza from the night before or soda. This habit had been left behind only in his college years. A sandwich was also an ideal meal because of the time Roger had gotten up, almost close to lunch. Remembering again that he would only compromise later, he didn't care about mealtime protocols and decided to make coffee with the aid of a coffee machine.

Once he even tried making coffee alone, but that couldn't even be called coffee, it was more for hot water with earthy taste. He ended up giving up and surrendering to the modern practices, buying a coffee maker, taking advantage of the salary he was earning. A few years ago, Roger wouldn't have money even for a coffee maker. If there was one thing he was grateful for, it was Queen that worked out, they found a good label, and now they're steadily rising to success. Doing what he and his friends loved to support themselves had made sure they had a more stable life now, and Roger simply loved being a rock star.

Drinking his perfect coffee, thanks to the miracles of the coffee maker, he saw that he still had minutes before lunch. He decided to wait for them to go for a walk in London, and when he was hungry again he would go to his favorite restaurant, where he used to eat almost every day. The menu there reminded him of his mother's food and other good things fro Truro.

Stepping out of the apartment and into the parking lot, Roger couldn't help but smile as he saw one of his greatest treasures and achievements, his beautiful car waiting for him, and Roger could swear that the body was brighter just because he had arrived. The drummer had a peculiar admiration for cars.

So he drove, feeling like the London traffic was in the early afternoon. He arrived at "Corner's Servant" and ordered the usual, patiently waiting for his meal. In that time, he took a pen out of his jacket pocket, clicking it non-stop, checking if it was working. That was his prevention if someone asked for an autograph and, almost always that happened, for his joy and vanity. But that day no one came before he had lunch. He just shrugged and sated his hunger, finished his meal and took a look to see if any fans would appear.

"Um ... sir?" a young lady appeared and soon he understood what she wanted "sorry to ask, but you're Roger Taylor from Queen, right? Would you give me an autograph?"

"That's me, miss," he lowered his dark glasses, "and it will be a pleasure."

The girl gave him a magazine, his picture was highlighted in the middle of a story about Queen, he didn't even bother to read what the article was about, just signed with his pen, smiling at the fan as soon as he finished.

"Thank you." The girl nodded and left him, not believing that she had met her idol.

He smiled again in response, watching her leave. Looking at his watch, he saw that it was best to hurry, after all the one on the group who was always late was Freddie and Roger didn't want that for him. The band's commitment that afternoon was to meet Richard Branson, who would be the producer of the show in Hyde Park that Queen would do, they would need to set the details of everything with him, but first, they would all meet in John Reid's office. Arriving there, Roger wasn't surprised to see that Freddie hadn't yet arrived.

"Hey, guys, are you excited?" He sat between John and Chrissie, Brian was sitting on the other side of his wife.

"Yeah, we don't know Branson well, let's hope he'll be nice to us." John told him what he was thinking.

"I think he's going to be, at least he's going to have good relationships since we're his clients," Brian said. "But what worries me the most is the show itself, it looks like it's going to be a big deal, Open sky and for free, we will have a public audience to please."

"We can please the great public," Roger said, confident as ever "now this thing to be for free, we need Branson to agree with our proposal."

"That's what we're counting on," her husband confirmed, rather anxious about the meeting that afternoon.

Reid waited for Freddie to arrive and only then did Queen and their escorts head to Richard Branson's office. There, they waited for more, which festered Freddie's patience, and his impatience, in turn, irritated his companions. Meanwhile, Dominique finished arranging another band's schedule when she checked her watch, 14:37, Queen should be on their way.

"Check if the Queen band has arrived, please, Miss. Beyrand, if they're here, have them come in immediately," Branson instructed.

So she went to the reception, sighing for breath, getting ready to meet the band who until now she only knew their songs. She glanced quickly at the faces of the men waiting for her, noticing the company of a young woman. He soon recognized them from the covers of the records and a Queen story from a magazine she had also read to prepare for the meeting.

The four band members turned to Dominique, hoping she could help them or explain the whole delay. Roger concentrated on her as soon as he saw her, noticing the delicate features of her face, but the way she walked was simply striking, exuding confidence, someone very intelligent, elegant and equally beautiful, certainly very beautiful. All this together caught his attention in such a way that he couldn't take his eyes off Dominique. Roger's mouth automatically twisted into a smirk as he watched every movement of the assistant.

"I'm sorry for making you wait." Dominique made a point of apologizing first. "I'm Dominique Beyrand, Mr. Branson's assistant, he asked to call you."

"Freddie Mercury," the group leader said, shaking her hand, "it's a pleasure to meet you."

She nodded in response, greeting the next.

"I'm Brian May, hi," said the guitarist, in his shy way.

"John Deacon, good afternoon." Deaky was the penultimate one to introduce himself.

Roger began to feel anxious for that simple handshake, realizing how much he wanted to touch the hand of the girl he had just met. However, Dominique didn't fail to notice his persistent gaze, which made her feel embarrassed and afraid to greet him, that was the behavior of a womanizer with an eye on his next target, at least that was what he seemed to be. But she couldn't deny shaking his hand, after all he was also a client of her boss.

"Roger Taylor, enchanted to meet you." He emphasized the last word, hoping to have some effect on Dominique.

The only effect was a dull smile on her, and she tried to drop her hand as fast as she could.

"Come with me, please," the assistant asked, and they followed her into the office.

Roger was already hurrying behind Dominique when Chrissie put a hand on his shoulder.

"What is it Chrissie?" He was trying to understand why his friend had interrupted him.

"If I had known you were going to be drooling like this, I was going to bring a bib for my son." Mrs. May said with amusement, taking advantage of the fact that Roger sometimes called her "mother", being so concerned and caring, and the way he was being affected by Dominique.

"Leave me alone, Chrissie!" Roger was annoyed at her joke.

"Hurry up, Rog!" The drummer heard Brian call him.

Still angry at Chrissie's comment, he went to the office, so absorbed in being in the same place as Dominique that he almost forgot that he was there for a serious meeting.


	3. In the office's exit

It was Richard Branson's turn to greet the Queen members one by one, and in the meantime Dominique arranged the band's contract, leaving the papers on the table. All the while she was there, she could feel Roger's gaze on her movements, which sincerely made her uneasy, uncomfortable, and beginning to piss her off. Before she exploded and screamed at the drummer, risking disrupting her boss's agreement with the band and being fired, she excused himself and quickly left. Roger's gaze followed her out.

Dominique groaned in frustration as she closed the door, put a hand on her forehead, and sighed deeply. On the way back to the reception desk, she managed to calm down, remembering that she had left the girl who was accompanying Queen. Dominique hurried to join her.

"So, we're almost right about the show, we expect it to happen next Saturday, EMI has already paid half the amounts with me, however, there's still the issue of the concert being free" Branson was explaining how the show's production in Hyde Park would work.

But by now Roger was no longer paying attention to any of that, and he knew it was better to let John and Brian take care of all the logistics, and in the end, he would only agree, after all he knew that they were much better at it than him. His main concern now was to talk to Dominique as soon as the meeting was over.

Back at the reception, Dominique met Mrs. May, who still expected the band to end the conversation with Branson.

"I'm sorry I didn't say hi to you, my boss was in a hurry to talk to the band, and I had to greet them soon enough to introduce them soon enough." The assistant felt the need to apologize.

"Oh, it's okay." Chrissie understood the situation, "I understand. I'm ... Chrissie May, Ms. Beyrand."

"Ah, the guitarist's wife, isn't it?" Dominique shooked her hand, glad to have figured it out "I think it was very nice of you to come with them."

"Yeah, sometimes I do that," Chrissie said, explaining better why she was there. "They are excellent musicians and people, but ... Sometimes they need someone to talk some reason to them, and whether they want it or not, they usually listen to me."

"Yeah, I noticed that," Dominique felt comfortable enough to be honest, "a lot of artists are arrogant and jerks because they want to and take pleasure in it, but the Queen here, what I noticed in them was just a huge self-confidence."

"Yes, that's what they are." Mrs. May nodded.

"Uh ..." As much as she'd like to keep talking, Dominique knew she still had a lot of work to do "I have to sort things out, Mrs. May, but if you don't mind, I'd like to keep talking to you."

"Oh, yes, all right, Miss. Beyrand" the visitor was patient again "and by the way, you can call me Chrissie."

"In that case you can call me Dominique then, or Dom," offered the assistant, finding Chrissie a very gentle and understanding person.

She went back to work, rearranging the agenda for the rest of the day and also the next day, thinking about how much Chrissie was different from her friend Roger. Actually, the other members of Queen were more respectful people, professionals completely committed to the job and the reason they were there, while this Taylor seemed to be there just to flirt with her. For being a good drummer and part of a successful band, it could mean that he should take the work seriously at least, but that wasn't the case that day. Dominique began to wonder if he was always like this.

Remembering Chrissie again, she decided to bring tea and coffee to the girl, hoping she would feel more comfortable for Mrs. May answered something very delicate that Dominique was afraid to ask.

"So, Chrissie ..." Dominique said, taking courage "I ... I really don't want to ask, but ... Maybe it's unethical at work, but if you answer me, it can help me deal better with Queen and I need to do this to work well, so my question is ... Is Mr. Taylor always invasive like that?"

"Rog?" Chrissie laughed, to the surprise of the assistant "sorry, is that ... he's not always so, I assure you, it's been a long time since I met him and believe me, behind this jerk womanizer attitude there's a very sensitive and loving guy, really."

"Well, that was enlightening, Chrissie." Dominique found it contradictory what Mrs. May told her, but considered the information anyway "thank you for not thinking I'm weird to ask that."

"Ah, no, I don't think you are weird," Mrs. May didn't judge her "people always thought me weird, so I know what it feels like to feel bad about it, I don't judge you."

"Thank you, I have to get back to work." The assistant stood up, intrigued by Chrissie's description of Roger.

"Of course," Mrs. May finally answered, letting Dominique return to her work.

After a while, the band returned to reception, which made Chrissie curious and Dominique alert. The assistant was about to return to her post, but she was full of anger because of Roger, fearing that he would talk to her. In that moment, pondering what she was going to do, she came to the conclusion that it was best to make it clear how his behavior was irritating her. She wouldn't make a scandal, nor provoke a fight, but neither would she act so calm and peaceful. The middle ground of what she had to do was to be firm. After all, that wasn't the first time she had been through it. If she think about it, Roger wasn't being as bad as other artists who had been more daring, flirting with her all the time when she didn't even pay attention to them. This made her sad, all she wanted was to work in peace, with no one bothering her, not drawing so much attention, but Dominique also knew that it was impossible to change people's behavior, so she hoped Roger was an exception.

Roger was clearly interested in talking to Dominique, he needed to know her better, because her simple presence, her manner of speaking, and her kindness had fascinated him to the point where she could not think of anything else besides her.

"Um ... Chrissie" Roger was crazy looking for the assistant, missing her immediately "do you know where Dominique went?"

"It's Miss. Beyrand, Mr. Taylor" the assistant declared, very firmly, sounding very serious and angry "please, let's keep professionals, if it's not ask too much."

Dominique promised herself that she would make it clear that she didn't like how Roger was treating her and struggled to express it, and Roger felt like a child rebuked by the worst of his teachers.

"I'm sorry if I've offended you in any way." Completely shaken, but not giving up, he tried another excuse. "Branson instructed us to look for you to give us the phone numbers and contacts needed to organize the show."

"It was exactly why I was waiting for you," the assistant smiled happily, seeing that she had put the drummer in his place. "Here is a list of numbers if you need to ask any questions, ask me directly, but most bureaucracies are already being solved with John Reid. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Even handing the list over to Freddie, Roger tried to pick up the sheet, trying to keep in touch with the owner of his thoughts.

"Actually, yes," he was determined to conquer her, "some of these numbers are your personal phone number, Miss. Beyrand?"

"No, Mr. Taylor, "she insisted, on the verge of exploding, but held her anger back." I've already asked you to be a professional, and if you need to talk to me, you're going to call Mr. Branson, are we clear?"

Roger felt his state of mind sink further. He felt a mixture of sadness, irritation, and frustration. It was impossible for him that Dominique was so resisting his charm. Already she was feeling very different about him. On the one hand, she felt bad for having to treat him that way, but if she didn't, she couldn't bear his attempts.

"Thank you for your time and your help, Miss. Beyrand" Freddie said goodbye, afraid of what might happen "have a good afternoon."

"Likewise, Mr. Mercury" Dominique responded needlessly and politely, getting out of there as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately for Roger, his friends couldn't hold their laughter any longer and laughed as they reached the parking lot.

"I don't know how I can handle you ..." he said, exhaling his anger.

"What did you expect? You played the biggest role of a fool" John explained the group's behavior.

"And look, I hate to hurt your big ego, but I have to agree with Miss. Beyrand" Freddie said now, still putting a hand on Roger's shoulder "she has the nerve."

"And put you in your place, like no girl had done before," Brian said, rather amused.

"I assure you something." Roger narrowed his eyes, projected his voice and strove to the utmost to look imposing ""I'm going to have a date with Dominique or my name is not Roger Meddows Taylor!"

"Keep dreaming, little boy ..." John scoffed, knowing that Dominique wasn't like other girls Roger had dated before.

Now Roger exhales irritation. He still didn't believe how Dominique had been so hard with him, especially with him, and in an ironic way, her attitude only made him want to get a date even more, Dominique was unlike any girl he'd ever met, that was a truth, and there was no way he could deny himself how much he already liked her.


	4. Plans at Hyde Park

Dominique knew that her work would multiply that week, so she organized herself in advance. It was a Wednesday when the preparations for the show began and she was in charge of checking the arrival of the materials for the stage assembly, how to organize the workers who would mount all this, plus those responsible for the sound equipment. That was why she and Branson were the first to arrive there in the morning. In addition to this giant task, all the office's most urgent work had been brought in a trailer, so Dominique would continue to take care of Branson's commitments and still be there in the park, available to help her boss if he needed it.

Thus, Ms. Beyrand spent all morning busy, stopping only for lunch. Her plans were to stop at a nearby diner to spare her time, but before she left, Branson reached for her.

"Hi, Mr. Branson, I'm going to lunch, you need anything else?" she asked quickly.

"No, not for the moment, miss, everything's under control," Branson gave her a grateful smile. "I just wanted to let you know that Queen will come later and check the sound and rehearse a bit."

"Oh, okay," she nodded, thinking it was more than natural for the band to be there, after all, it was their show being organized "I promise I won't delay."

"Okay," her boss agreed and she left.

Dominique was convinced that she had no problems with Queen, Mercury, May and Deacon had been very polite to her when they met, not to mention Chrissie's sympathy, who sincerely seemed to want to be her friend. She even thought it would be great to see them playing live, since she had enjoyed their songs. Her only problem with the band was their abused drummer. Since the last time she saw Roger, Dominique's patience with him had halved, and she was already preparing to take drastic measures if necessary. She would only wait to see how things would go, but decided to put up with some curious defenses.

Finishing her lunch and returning to Hyde Park, Dominique remembered another musician who wouldn't leave her alone. She ended up throwing tomato sauce at Jake Rasd's main costume, which left him furious and worried about it, without him ever suspecting that she was the author of that acident. Again, Rich Chowsky was frightened like a little girl when he turned on his amplifier, and firecrackers exploded near him at the same time. Roger Taylor hadn't done anything serious to deserve this punishment, but if he got off the line, he would take a fine lesson from Dominique Beyrand.

She was in her trailer when Queen members were looking for a place to park. Coming down from their cars, they walked a little around, giving a general glimpse of how far the preparations had advanced. Roger was impatient and without much attention to detail, he walked around the park looking for Dominique. Again, he took courage, forgetting the humiliation she had put him through when they first met, after all he was willing to win her heart, and no matter how difficult it was, Roger hoped that his irresistible charm would have an effect on her eventually.

Dominique got up immediately, alerted by the knocks on the trailer door, she was preparing to give a cordial response, thinking it was someone asking for information, but she ran into the one she didn't want to see.

She tried to disguise her grimace as she saw Roger Taylor standing in front of her, with his freaking sunglasses and that stupid mischievous smile. She didn't know whether to get angry or laugh at his pose.

"Hey there, Miss. Beyrand" He insisted on calling her by the surname, as she had demanded "are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Mr. Taylor," she said impatiently, almost rolling her eyes, "can I help you with anything?"

"Oh, I just ..." Roger hesitated a little, thinking of an excuse that wasn't obvious "I wanted to know ... About the organization of the show, um ... Do you know when they started to set the stage? Is it well build? You know, we don't want to have acidents."

"The whole assembly team arrived at 7 and worked hard until 1:00 PM" Dominique gave the information as if talking to someone who really was interested in it "the supervisors assured me that everything is practically ready and the stage is ready to welcome you and the rest of the band."

"Wow, then, it's all right, since you guarantee it." Roger stumbled over the words, so engrossed by what Dominique was saying, that he didn't care that she was angry.

"It's just that? Because I have so much to do yet ... " she murmured.

"Yes, yes, I understand, I will ..." he stammered again. "Bye."

"Bye Mr. Taylor." Dominique waited long enough, but closed the door in a rush.

She busied herself for about twenty minutes, when another knock on the door interrupted her. She thought it was Mr. Branson, or maybe another member of the band, but it was just Roger again.

"What is it now, Mr. Taylor?" She was direct.

"Can you tell me where the instruments came from?" it was what he thought to ask this time "I really liked those drums, I was thinking of buying one of these for me ..."

"The instruments were rented from Roland S.A.," she said quickly, hoping to get rid of him soon.

"I know, it's an excellent store, and-" Roger paused a little, looking at Dominique's expression of anticipation "you're busy- that's all I wanted to know, thank you."

"You're welcome." She grinned and saw him leave again.

It was then that she spent another half hour and again, someone came to disturb her, this time she already hoped it was Roger and she wasn't wrong.

"You again ..." she let slip, tired.

"I wanted some water, if that's not a bother," he said in a humble way and Dominique counted to 10 mentally as she took one of her cooler's water bottles and handed it to him.

To her indignation, Roger made a point of sitting down and drinking water very slowly, delaying on purpose. Meanwhile, someone knocked on the trailer door again and this time, Dominique was relieved.

"Chrissie!" said the assistant, full of relief, "how can I help you?"

"Actually, I don't think I'm going to need help." Mrs. May looked inside the trailer, feeling indignant to find Roger so comfortable there "I found exactly what I was looking for."

"Come on, Chrissie, you didn't come here to give me a sermon, did you?" Roger countered, not bothering to get up.

"I came to do you a favor, the boys are looking for you to rehearse, now!" Chrissie demanded.

"Okay, you don't have to tell again." Disgruntled, Roger stood up to follow his friend, but before that, he still dared to look at Dominique in a pedantic way.

"Duty calls, Mr. Taylor, " she replied, still angry," you have to work, and so do I, oh, and one more thing, if you feel thirsty again you don't have to come to me just to drink some water, there's water with the stage assistants, okay?"

Roger said nothing and was content to follow Chrissie, leaving Dominique alone and with even more anger at him. She had grown tired of it, the idiot didn't realize that she wanted nothing to do with him and he made himself even more foolish to have disturbed her with those nonsensical questions all day. It was then that she decided she had to take action. Dominique rummaged through her purse, looking for some chewing gum. She stuffed the candy into her mouth and began to chew vigorously, part to help deal with her irritation, part to help put her plan into practice.


	5. A truce

Before she left the trailer, Dominique checked his purse again. That morning, she thought it was a bit exaggerated to bring firecrackers to work, but she really had to be careful if Roger didn't let her alone again, and that's exactly what happened. She picked up a few and headed to the stage where Queen would rehearse and be in a matter of moments. She had to hurry if she wanted her plan to work.

Still chewing the chewing gum, Dominique took a sort of shortcut, a route that would get her to the stage before the band. She hurried past in the middle of the park, but no one would find it strange to her be running, after all she was supervising all this and it was normal for her to be in a hurry at such a job. She went up the steps of the stage and without further ado, approached the drums. When she crouched down, she hoped no one would suspect she was there and why she was there. She finally took the chewing gum from her mouth and attached it to the drums pedal, a mischievous smile on her lips, chuckling softly. With the same hurry that she arrived, she left, positioning herself behind the stage, ready to light the firecrackers when the time came.

Standing behind the stage, Dominique couldn't see the band but knew that they had arrived by listening them to play one of their songs, which she identified as "Sheer Heart Attack".

Roger played the whole song feeling anoyed, since he had positioned his foot on the pedal, it seemed that something was pulling him, not letting him play as he should, limiting his movements. His discomfort wasn't beaten by his companions.

"What is it now, Rog?" Freddie thought it best to ask, before continuing the rehearsal.

"No, it's that ..." Roger hesitated a little, realizing what had happened "it looks like someone glued chewing gum on that pedal!"

"You're kidding," Brian murmured, unable to believe it.

"No, man, that's serious," Roger then raised his foot at once, checking that his theory was right, finding the chewing gum under his foot "I'm going to complain to Branson, how absurd, it's clear that someone put it here on purpose ..."

Still annoyed, the drummer tried to pull the candy out of his sneakers and was still doing it when he gave a startled scream. An explosion had just happened behind the stage, which astonished not only him but his friends as well.

Out of their sight, Dominique tried to laugh softly, not to confess so quickly. She gathered herself, seizing the moment to see the results of her plan put into practice.

"I was standing nearby and I heard something bursting." Dominique justified her sudden presence, struggling to feign innocence. "Has anything serious happened?"

Roger got up at once and walked to her with heavy footsteps and a brooding face, which intimidated her a little, but it was too late to retreat, Dominique stood firmly where she was.

"First, someone stuck chewing gum on my pedal, and then they popped a firecracker near me, I'd love to find out who it was and have a nice chat with him, Ms. Beyrand," Roger demanded, talking to her in a tone he hadn't used up until now, even angry he was polite and didn't flirt at all.

"Well, you're talking to her Mr. Taylor" Dominique thought it best to confess, just to see his reaction, laughing "it was my way of making it clear that your pursuit with me was already out of the limits".

Roger could hardly believe what he heard, does that mean that Dominique, the serious, intelligent and committed assistant had played that joke? He understood why she had acted like this, and in the end he started laughing, amused to discover she had a sense of humor.

Dominique was astonished to hear Roger laughing. She was waiting for a scolding or embarrassed silence on his part, but instead he was laughing, no matter how much she was amusing herself at his humiliation. No one had ever reacted to her pranks like that, maybe Roger was different, as Chrissie had said.

"You had the courage to do this to me? I have to congratulate you!" Roger really was surprised, but in a positive way "Darling, you rocked! And look, I called you darling as a compliment, just to make it clear. And I apologize for being so annoying today. Can we start over?"

It was Dominique's turn to be even more astounded, her prank had changed Roger Taylor's behavior or perhaps, brought up the side of him that he hadn't yet shown. She watched his hand out, a gesture from an educated gentleman. Maybe he wasn't just an idiot womanizer. Dominique then shook his hand.

"Accepted apologies, Mr. Taylor" she used her kindness in her words, but she said it truly forgiving the drummer.

"You can call me Roger," Taylor said, thinking they didn't need more formalities now.

"And you can call me Dominique, or Dom, out of work," she still cherished respect, but said it with a smile.

"You mean I'll see you out of work?" Roger asked with a little hope.

"Who knows ..." Dominique was open to the possibility "now come back to the rehearsal, I've already caused you enough trouble."

The assistant turned around, leaving the band very confused. Roger just smiled for a long time. He was right to like Dominique, for the courage she had to confront him and how she did it only further aroused his feelings for her.

However, the joke had the effect she expected on Roger. The drummer admitted to himself that he had invaded her space, had been disrespectful and very, very annoying. Dominique deserved better, that he acted better by respecting her, and that was what he decided to do, to show by his behavior how much he admired her.

The assistant was distracted as she returned to the trailer, her thoughts turned to Roger, not just Roger, but his reaction to what she did. He had praised her for the joke, called her brave, apologized for his bad manners. His behavior moved her and that's why Dominique decided to give him another chance and see him otherwise, to see him by the way he turned out today. Of course she wouldn't go out with him, nor succumb to his charm, but she was willing to treat him like a co-worker.

By the end of the afternoon, Dominique finished all her work, but before she left, a part of her wished Roger would say goodbye. However, when she prepared to leave, she saw that the stage was already empty, a sign that the band had long since gone.

Dominique sighed before leaving Hyde Park, thinking it was okay if they didn't say goodbye. She would still see Roger during that week, a week to start over.


	6. Starting again

Roger knew it would still take a long time for the band to go to Hyde Park that day, but even so, his anxiety made him get up earlier. It was funny how he always had trouble waking up earlier and now he was standing, just for the simple memory of Dominique and what she had done. When he remembered her pranks, Roger laughed at himself, made a fool of himself, completely delighted, but then he also remembered why Dominique had acted like that. The effect her prank had on him was so strong that he remembered that he should leave the girl alone today, much as he was anxious to see her and talk to her again.

Roger spent the morning until lunchtime rehearsing, focused on work, trying not to think so much about Dominique, but his thoughts drifted between paying attention to the way he played and the girl's face, her voice, her way of walking, her lovely laugh ... Poor Taylor just waited for the hour to pass so he could meet her. When he went to "Corner's Servant," he completely forgot to wait for fans to recognize him, take pictures and sign autographs. All that occupied the drummer's mind was the rehearsal at Hyde Park later that afternoon.

Just before Queen's scheduled time to be in the park, Roger left home and, to his own surprise, had arrived first than his bandmates. He knew exactly where Dominique would be now, in Benson's trailer, but no matter how much he had seen the vehicle from afar, he hesitated before taking the first step. Could he be kinder and less annoying than the day before? It was no use thinking or doubting himself, the only way to get a real answer to that was to take the risk, to go there. It wasn't impossible for Roger to be able to just give a hello and leave her alone, but his feelings told him something else. One thing was true, if he wanted to win Dominique's heart, he should leave her at ease. Shaking his head vigorously, to scare away those thousands of thoughts, and, taking courage and attitude, he went to the trailer.

On the other hand, Dominique knew that Queen would rehearse again, and for a moment, she feared that Roger wouldn't come, or worse, avoid talking to her because of what she did. It wasn't that she was sorry for the joke, but somehow, now that she had seen a bit of who the drummer really was, she didn't want to push him away from her, which made her angry with herself for such irony.

With a sigh she turned her attention back to work, and then there was a knock on the door of the trailer, then she got up to answer it. Dominique smiled involuntarily to who was at her door.

"Hi, good afternoon," said Roger, rather shyly, "I just came to wish you a good work."

"Oh yes, thank you," Dominique replied, as she sued that he had spoken normally to her, no smirks, no winks, "I suppose you have to go rehearse, don't you?"

"Not really, not yet," Roger was incredibly embarrassed. "I've arrived earlier than the boys, I'll have to wait a little longer. I'll be going, okay? You must have plenty to do and I don't want to disturb you, Ms. Beyrand."

"Okay, okay, then," said Dominique uncertainly.

Roger just nodded, finishing their little conversation. It was small, but enough to placate her willingness to revisit Dominique again. He had already turned around when she thought better.

"Roger!" she called out, and almost bit her tongue at the realization that she had called him by his first name "I mean, Mr. Taylor."

It was too late for her to correct, but even so he turned in expectation.

"If you want you can wait here with me, you won't disturb me, I assure you," she explained quickly.

Roger nodded, his expression like a happy little child, and Dominique disguised her smile at that. He sat down in front of her, watching her work, in pure silence and admiration. Only Dominique could make Roger Taylor be quiet for so long. When she finished, finally a subject came to her head.

"I confess I didn't know Queen very well when Branson told me about the show," Domi began, and Roger was interested in what she would say next, "so I did a little research on the band and bought their records."

"The three of them?" Taylor was impressed "I hope you haven't been disappointed."

"I do not know if you meant it or said jokingly, but I assure you that you are excellent," Dominique made it clear, with a contented smile on her lips, "do you know what strikes me most? It may surprise you, but in my opinion, it's what makes you so good."

"Just tell me, Dominique." Roger tried to make her comfortable, since she was a little afraid of what she was going to say. He was even more pleased that she hadn't scolded him for calling her by her first name.

"Your vocals are perfect, the harmonies, the way your voices fit so well with each other" the assistant was getting excited, but then held back a little "are just the four of you singing? Because Queen officially consists of four people, but it seems that by the sound of the record, there are more than four singing, that is, you use a technique of recording several tapes one over the other and creating this chorus effect."

"Wow, that's exactly what we do." Roger was startled a little more, but he was glad Dominique understood about mixing "but all starts from our three voices, I have to give a lot of credit to Freddie and Brian as well."

"And you too, I suppose," added Dominique, knowing that he too had a great contribution to the band's accomplishments.

"I think so, and ... was that a compliment?" he had to ask, had to know if Dominique really had found something in him to admire.

"Yeah, it was," she straightened, putting her hands together on the table, disguising her embarrassment, "if there's anything I've noticed about you ... is that you are very responsible and committed to your career."

"I say the same for you," he nodded and smiled, a genuine smile, not meant to flirt, but still charming, which made Dominique admired.

"Thank you." She surrendered to his sincerity.

Roger was grateful, content, incredulous, at what he had just gained, he had been talking to Dominique for a long time, a conversation so interesting, that she herself had begun, that she had shown herself to understand something as peculiar as mixing, he was even more certain that she was a different girl. Afraid that something or someone or even himself would spoil that moment, and not wanting to abuse good luck, he remembered the rehearsal.

"I'll take a look to see if the boys have arrived." Roger was getting up. "Thank you so much for your time, Dominique."

"You're welcome, Roger." She had really paid him attention of her own will and heart, and as much as she wanted to keep talking, she understood that both she and him were there for work.

As soon as the trailer door closed, Dominique admitted that the annoying and petulant drummer wasn't so bad, his company had been very pleasant. Although he didn't want to leave this early, Roger walked away from the trailer with a winning smile on his lips, going directly to the stage, where his companions still set the equipment.

"Look who was already here!" John was the first to comment on Taylor's presence, surprised "what do you have to be here early?"

"It's not what he has, John, it's what's already here," Chrissie said, folding her arms and preparing her sermon. "You were with Dominique, weren't you? Yesterday wasn't enough?"

"Calm down, Mom, I just talked to her because she invited me." Taylor shrugged nonchalantly, taking his place on the drums.

"It can't be true!" Brian hesitated.

"Folks, I wasn't annoying to her and she was nice to me, simple as that" Roger summed up the whole story "can we start rehearsing now?"

"Right Rog!" Freddie agreed "Thank you for remembering the real reason we're here."

It wasn't long before Queen started to play their songs for the show that was to happen on Saturday. At the sound of the instruments reaching her ears, Dominique surrendered as she opened the trailer door and came closer to hear better. She chose to stay in a place that the band wouldn't see her, but she could see them, she smiled at her favorite songs, shaking her head in the rhythm of the drums, recognizing that the highest and sharpest notes came from Roger's singing.


	7. The Last Day

Dominique had arrived in Hyde Park for another day of work, it was the last day they would be there, since by late afternoon tomorrow, all that effort and all that was put together would give time and voice to Queen's big free concert.

As she walked to the trailer, she observed all the constant movement of the employees, who for the last day, worked double. Dominique smiled as she realized that everything was going well, but at the same time, it was a sad smile. As much as she was accustomed to organizing events and everything else that involved it, she had loved being there that week, and deep in her heart, she didn't want to leave the place anytime soon, nor even realize that tomorrow would be over.

Shaking her head, she pushed those thoughts away, focusing on the present moment. As much as everything was right, it was Dominique who needed to make sure everything went well. Then she sat at the table in the mobile, temporary office, reviewing the schedule for the day, of what she still had to check, coming up with something very specific that might upset Queen's general rehearsal. In the middle of the afternoon, the lighting crew would install the floodlights on the stage, which would prevent the band from playing and it would be up to Dominique to warn them of the small inconvenience. Seeing that she needed to do this, her spirits increased a little.

Her anxiety in anticipation of the arrival of the band, which seemed to have come suddenly, left her somewhat confused. Queen was an excellent band, made up of extremely talented artists who undoubtedly had drawn her attention to the musical aspect, since she had heard their records again after she had met them, but she didn't consider herself a fanatic for them, just a modest fan of their music. Again, she sighed deeply, not thinking too much about things that were distracting her from her work. While they weren't coming, she still had a lot of work to do.

Some time later, someon knocked on the trailer door and inadvertently she got excited about the possibility of being Queen, or more specifically Roger, because of the four, he had been the one to look for her directly before she went to the band. But being somewhat disappointed, Dominique received the lighting assembly team and guided them to the stage, making them comfortable to work.

She took advantage of the fact that her work with the paperwork was over and went for a walk in the park, checking other details of the organization. She was so focused on what she was doing that she didn't even notice anyone approaching her. As soon as Dominique had left the office, Queen had just arrived. When they saw that the stage was occupied, they went directly to the assistant's office, but found it empty.

Of course Roger was a little panicked, already thinking she was running away from him again, or something else, even though he was sure she'd enjoyed the last talk they had.

"Uh, where's Miss. Beyrand?" Freddie said aloud the question everyone wanted to ask.

"I don't know, maybe she was busy with something else or had to leave," Brian tried to deduce.

"Leave? But without waiting for us to arrive first?" Mercury argued a little more, bewildered "there are people on stage, how are we going to rehearse now?"

"Calm down, Freddie, you're looking like a spoiled child." John folded his arms. "Maybe she had to leave because of an emergency, who knows?"

"Emergency? Wow, man, this doesn't look good at all." Roger let his panic creep up.

"Folks, it's no big deal, I'm sure it's okay." Brian brought everyone to the voice of reason.

"I'll find her," Roger decided, and left before anyone could stop him.

"I just hope he doesn't disturb Dominique again," Brian murmured tiredly.

"And we'll have to wait, won't we?" Freddie complained, seeing that he had nothing else to do.

"And that's how we feel when you're late," John said, which made Brian laugh softly.

And so Roger walked around the perimeter where the employees were working, looking for Dominique. When he found her, he didn't fail to notice that she was very focused and had barely noticed him, if he had approached her suddenly he would certainly it would frighten her, and he didn't want to do it. He decided to be as delicate as possible.

"Dominique?" he called softly.

"Hi!" She turned around instantly, realizing who it was, feeling rather embarrassed that she had spoken so loudly, then she straightened her posture and cleared her throat. "Roger, good to see you, what can I do for you?"

"Um, the boys and I arrived and we saw the people working on the stage and by the way we can't rehearse now, so ..." Roger hesitated a little, but focused on the main reason for looking for her "is there a prediction of when are they going to free up the space for us?"

"I think about an hour or so will be ready in an hour, your rehearsals will last about two hours, so I believe that by four o'clock you will be finished," she replied, as helpful as ever, but without noticing otherwise .

If it were another artist, it would have demanded with all arrogance that the assemblers would go out and wait for the band to rehearse first and then they work, but Queen acted differently. Dominique conjectured that what Roger asked, he said on behalf of the whole band, representing what the four wanted. And of all, it wasn't Freddie, the leader, who asked, nor Brian, the smart, nor John, the sensible, but Roger, the charming annoying guy who was actually a sweet person.

"Right," he said and Dominique turned his attention back to him. "I'll tell the boys, they're waiting in your office, I hope you don't mind."

"Okay, no problem, I was already going there myself," she said, walking side by side with Roger to the trailer.

It was a small silent walk, but the simple presence of each other, close to each other, made them content.

"Hi, good afternoon," said Dominique, as soon as he saw the rest of the musicians, "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, you'll have to wait a little over an hour. I hadn't time to tell you that the lighting crew would come today."

Freddie was forced to admit it, but he didn't want to say that he was going to be quiet in the place "I'm going to go out for a walk time passes faster, but don't worry, darlings, I'll be back in an hour."

"All right, Freddie," John said for him and his companions, so Mercury left them.

There was a small moment of silence, and John and Brian decided to do the same thing, but not leaving the park, just talking to each other somewhere else. Deep down, Deacon and May understood that it was awkward to stay in the same space occupied by Roger and Dominique.

"Freddie ..." she hesitated, just trying to keep silence away, "is he always like this?"

"Impatient? Oh sure, but today he's in his best days," Roger said, laughing a little, "but to be honest, the four of us are a bit like this, but Freddie is more."

"Like children, you mean?" Dominique ventured.

"Chrissie would say yes, but that's because she sees us like that," Taylor explained.

"And where is she that she hasn't come with you today?" the assistant wanted to know, missing the girl who she already considered a friend.

"She's working, she's a teacher, but she always comes with us when she can," Roger told her, "but tomorrow she's coming to the show."

"Yeah, the concert day has finally arrived," she said, mildly impressed. "Don't you think it came so fast?"

"Yeah, I ... I'm excited, but ..." He hesitated, looking down, a little embarrassed.

"Are you alright?" Dominique risked to be a little closer to him, looking him in the eye.

"I am, it's just that I honestly didn't want it to come so fast," he confessed partially, not to mention the reason for it, although it was quite obvious to him and Dominique.

The way Roger looked at her was completely different the first time he looked at her, there was an affection, a concern, an admiration, all that went exclusively to her. No one had ever looked at her that way, much less an artist who was working with her boss. She felt embarrassed with such attention for being admired by Roger.

"I ... me too," she managed to answer, even if she choked a little. "I loved everything we've done here and I can't wait to see the result of this tomorrow."

"It's gonna be awesome!" Roger returned to his usual confidence, but it was more to disguise his sadness to think that Dominique hadn't realized what he really meant by what he said "it will be!"

"Of course." She believed that too, and nodded.

Roger continued the conversation by asking for technical details about the show that Dominique made a point of responding to, but both knew that it was just a pretext not to talk about feelings, just to stay close to each other as they waited for that one hour to pass.


	8. At the concert's night

It was a beautiful Saturday, sunny and with the mild weather, perfect for an outdoor show, Roger thought. As much as it was the weekend and however much the band only needed to be in Hyde Park at 5 pm, again anxiety made him wake up earlier.

He had his breakfast and began to practice the songs that he would later play along with his companions. When he thought he would have to go to the park later, he didn't think only about the show, but also about Dominique. He didn't fail to notice that the last time they talked, she looked sad. Of course he was curious to know why, not just curious, but worried. If he could, Roger somehow wanted to comfort her, to hold her, to look into her eyes, and to say with certainty that everything would be all right. The deep thought frightened him a little, he took a deep breath, closing that assumption, thinking again of the show.

At 3 in the afternoon, Dominique was already in the park again, after facing her journey on the subway. During the trip there, she thought hard about what she still had to do, how she would finally hear Queen live, making a show with all the proper equipment and the energy of the audience present, how she would meet Roger apparently for the last time.

Dominique had sympathized with him after they understood each other. Roger had been polite, respectful, even funny on occasion, which made them laugh together. Besides, there was something peculiar in his gaze, the way he looked at her after they became friends ...

"Friends? Is this what we've become? Yes, maybe yes, probably yes, I feel so ..." she reflected silently, coming to that conclusion.

Dominique was no fool, she still remembered how Roger had watched her obsessively when they met, as many other artists did before him, but then his gaze changed. She believed that someone's gaze revealed the truth about their attitudes, their intentions, their heart. Roger watched her with attention, caring, concern, admiration, and she couldn't deny how grateful she was to him for this, making her so happy that she wanted to reciprocate all this in the same way, taking care of him, because he was special to her too.

It was then that she understood what she was feeling, and Dominique was startled by herself. She couldn't think of these things, could not give in, just now that her life was so stable. If she had to date someone, it wouldn't be a rock star, who could have so many other girls besides her. However, in the depths of her being, Dominique knew it was her lthat Roger wanted, and that he wasn't really a jerk like so many other rockers she had known.

Sitting there among so many other people in a subway car, she buried her face in her hands, sighing deeply, concentrating to regain her balance.

"Don't lose control now, Dominique," she thought, speaking to herself, "you still have a great show to coordinate, you'll think about those silly things later"

So Dominique calmed down and arrived in Hyde Park completely focused, checking all the stage and equipment to the security organization that would keep the public in order, and shortly thereafter, made a report of all this, delivering to Branson personally.

"Very good, Miss. Beyrand, very good, "said her boss,"it's all right here, your supervision part is over, thank you for your efforts."

"Thank you, sir," she said, smiling, very pleased that everything had worked out.

However, Dominique still had more things to do. Checking her watch, she saw that it was almost 5 o'clock, which meant that Queen and their staff would arrive at any moment. She would have to prepare to receive them, indicating where they would get ready for the show, and of course, meet Roger again.

However, before meeting the boys, she eventually found the girls, Mrs. May and the girlfriends of Freddie and John, whom she still didn't meet.

"Dom, these are Mary and Veronica" Chrissie introduced her friends "Freddie's fiancé and John's girlfriend, respectively.

"Pleasure to meet you," said Dominique, "be at ease, and if you need anything, just ask."

"Ok, thank you," Mary said, "and by the way, we really wanted to meet you and congratulate you."

"Congratulations why?" Dominique was confused.

"You made Roger something that everyone wanted to do," Mary laughed. "We feel avenged."

"Oh my God, that?" Miss. Beyrand was surprised, but she laughed too.

"I hope you don't mind that I told them," Chrissie was embarrassed to confess.

"I confess that I regretted it a little later ..." Dominique remarked, getting carried away by her feelings.

"Deep down, in the bottom of his heart, behind all that arrogance and flirting has a nice guy, isn't it?" Veronica recalled Roger's qualities.

"Yes, I think so," Dominique concluded, already convinced.

"Look, I don't know how busy you'll be during the show, but when you can, come and see it with us here." Chrissie made the invitation, and Dominique was flattered.

"Yes, yes, I will, Chrissie," she promised.

So she left them, to go to the band. Her cheeks flushed at Roger's sight, her friendly smile, which she wore to greet everyone, widened a little more as she focused on Taylor.

"Hi, yeah, good afternoon, guys." Dominique bounced back from the little reverie. "You're going to use the dressing rooms in that trailer to the left of the stage, and you should be ready to take the stage at 6:30, I think that's all, then good luck and rock the audience."

She wished and left them to do their job, hurrying to hers, but it was just a way to get away from Roger, not to constantly keep reminding her how much she liked him. Roger in turn let her go, not wanting to mess up and delay her.

So, Dominique accepted Chrissie's suggestion and joined her and her friends to see the show in the cabin. It was the first Queen show that she watched and the whole paraphernalia of lights and smoke caught her attention, making her forget that she'd arranged it all, now she'd just be a fan, enjoying the concert.

Despite being in a privileged place, she couldn't see Roger clearly, which made her even more attentive to the drumming and when he sang. When they played "God Save the Queen," Dominique thought everything had gone too fast, and she wanted to see it all over again. But the end of the show was also sad, definitely marked the end of her work with Queen in Hyde Park.

She knew that now that it was over, she could leave, but she just didn't move, she preferred to stay there with the girls. Some time later, the guys in the band came to greet their sweethearts, who filled them with compliments, hugged them and kissed them, and in a strange way, all this made Roger and Dominique embarrassed.

"Dominique," he called out, deciding to take action, "it's good that you're here! I imagine you saw the show, what do you think?"

"Wonderful, really!" She had to be honest "you guys were great."

"Of course, thank you," he scratched the back of his neck, picking out his next action, "um, I'm going over there ..."

"I'll go with you," she agreed, understanding that he wanted to talk to her in private.

So they left his friends and walked side by side, among so many other people who formed the public that night, getting ready to go home. He kept his head down, not to be recognized, and for the nervousness.

"Look, Dom, I don't mean to scare you, or make you angry, but I wanted to tell you something." Roger stopped in front of her, his puppy eyes look pleading, sad, worried, convincing.

"Tell me, and then I'll tell you if I get angry or scared," she teased as she answered.

"It's true that in the midst of so much rush and work, we can't talk like I really wanted to, that is, I loved to talk to you here, but I wanted you to ... get to know me better, away from all this serious modd, so you can see that I'm just a normal guy too." Roger messed up a little to speak, but he thought he said what he wanted.

"Are you asking me out for a date?" Dominique was afraid to say out loud what she understood.

"Yeah, yeah, that's it." Roger shook his head, even taking one of her hands in his hands for dramatic effect !I'll take you wherever you want, just tell me, I just wanted to spend some time alone with you..."

Dominique tried to articulate words, thinking what she was going to say, feeling moved by Roger holding her hand. She could feel the roughness of his palms, because of the long hours playing drums, yet they were delicate, gentle. Everything seemed to indicate a single answer, but she knew what she wanted to say. She took courage, looking at his hands on hers, then into his eyes full of expectation.

"That's sweet of you," she said as politely as possible, "really Roger, but thank you. I ... I'm not looking for that kind of relationship right now, not at this moment, I think ... Anyway, it's not the right time for me and I still have my job, which always makes me busy, but we can be friends."

She could see Roger's heart breaking, but he didn't scream or made a scandal, just released her hands slowly.

"Friends, then, no problem," he agreed, trying to disguise his pain.

"Ok" that's all Dominique could tell him to not hurt him anymore "it's too late now, I need to go home, really."

"Sure, sure, okay," Roger nodded. "I need to go, too. So, see you next time."

"Until next time." Dominique smiled shyly and walked away.

She knew she might have finished her chance to see him again, but she knew she didn't want to risk it, that if she really liked Roger, she would have to have more time to fully understand her feelings. All that remained was for Roger to return home, trying to understand what he had done wrong so that Dominique avoided him again.


	9. Admiting Feelings

Dominique felt lonely, more than usual when she returned home. She didn't want to feel this way, but it was impossible to control her feelings. Her mind, at least part of it, the most rational, insisted she had no reason for it, after all, she had already said goodbye to Roger, defined as their relationship would be from here, just friends, but her heart was not yet quiet.

Her mind insisted a little more, making her remember all the good things that had happened in her life, she had a good job, had a comfortable apartment, had everything she had fought for, though she dreamed of more in the future, dreams those who were intertwined with her heart. Although Dominique had to leave her feelings aside to conquer all she needed, deep down, she knew, she would like to find a person to love, to share life, not only her victories, but also defeats, bad times, someone to understand her and give her strength.

But despite her courage, Dominique was still afraid, afraid of what she was feeling, trying to understand something that wasn't meant to be understood, just to accept it. After all, who can explain love? Love ... so she loved Roger? How to love someone she barely knew, whom she talked to few times? Thinking a little more, she admitted that in those few times she felt who Roger really was, she was sure he had the same feelings for her. If she was reciprocated, why did she still hesitate so much?

Her life has always been based on sound decisions, decisions that, in the end, were at risk. Going to study in England, getting a job and living away from her family was risky, but at the same time, the right thing to do, for Dominique to grow as a person. And despite all this growth, she met Roger, realizing that something else was missing in her life, or rather someone. And this someone had to be just Roger Taylor, a rock star?

Dominique shook her head, taking the stereotype out of the question. Yes, he was a famous artist, but also just a man, a human being with his own longings and interests that went far beyond a profession. She leaned back on her couch, sighing, admitting to herself that yes, she loved Roger, but what would she do about it? Maybe it was better to wait for him to come to her, after all, if he liked her too, there was a good chance they would meet again.

So Dominique decided what to do about it, and even with anxiety, managed to sleep, with exhaustion winning. Roger, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky.

He was tired, after all, playing drums for a long time in a show demanded much of his energy, but his tiredness also had influence from his conflicting emotions. The drummer was devastated, disappointed, he didn't expect Dominique to say no to him, but even in the midst of this rejection, he wasn't angry at her at all. Not that he was angry with a girl for rejecting him, that was hardly the case, but he had already gone through it, disconcerted by a girl resisting his charm. However, Dominique had been firm with him, sincere, but careful with her answer, it was never her intention to hurt him directly. And he admired her even more for it, but still ... Roger still wanted a chance with her. Without realizing it, as he remembered the last conversation they had, he began to cry.

He was angry with himself for such a demonstration of emotional imbalance, even if he was alone. All Roger wanted at the moment was to run after Dominique, try to fix what he had done wrong, to talk to her more, but she had made it clear that she needed space, and Roger wouldn't be selfish enough to disrespect her wish. All he had to do was lie down, not even bothering to change clothes, just waiting for sleep to arrive.

The next day, Dominique continued working normally, keeping deep in her being her feelings for Roger, and he, desperate in a way he had never been before, had an idea to calm down. He knew he needed to talk to someone about all this, and despite the jokes, it was no wonder he used to call Chrissie mother.

Roger was afraid to talk to his own mother about all that, but he was confident that his now-old friend, and his best friend's wife, would do everything to help him. He got up, barely brushing his face, not bothering to eat anything, much less looking in the mirror, just took the car keys and drove to the Mays house.

Before he knocked on the door, he sighed, trying to calm down. Chrissie, well disposed, cheerful and gentle as ever, received him, but soon her expression changed to complete astonishment and shock.

"For God's sake, what happened to you?" Mrs. May exclaimed, so worried.

"Chrissie," Roger was emphatic, even reaching for her shoulders "you need to help me."

"All right," she said, still distressed, giving him a hug in an attempt to calm him down, he sat down on the couch extremely shaken, even shivering. "Boy, just split it out before I faint!"

"It's just that I-" Roger caught his breath, willing to tell his story and open his heart "you know that the days we spent in Hyde Park, I talked a lot to Dominique, and seriously Chrissie, I don't know why but I I always wanted to be near her when we were there, it was so good to hear her talking, you know? With confidence, wit, and the way she laughed when I told her a funny thing, I wanted to talk to her in a quiet place, without any show rush, without being Queen's drummer and just Rog..."

He smiled a little as he remembered the good times he had with Dominique.

"Okay and what else?" Chrissie wanted to know, what awakened him.

"I said that to her," he felt that he would cry again, "that I would take her whenever she wanted to go, but just..."

"What Roger?" Mrs. May already had an idea of what was happening.

"She said we're just friends, and now she's too busy to go out with anyone like that," Roger confessed, and then, remembering that rejection, he couldn't contain himself and burst into tears.

"At least she already considers you a friend." Chrissie tried to see the good side, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder to comfort him.

"Yes, because also, now I realize that I annnoyed her too much, right?" He acknowledged his mistake, pausing to think of everything that had happened "but I apologized ..."

"Roger," Chrissie called him sweetly, just as a mother would do to her son. "Don't you realize what's happening to you? Have you ever felt this before?"

"I ..." He broke off, pausing to think, being struck by an old and still strong memory "only when Eileen broke up with me, but that was centuries ago."

"So, you know what it is, come on, admit it out loud that you're going to start feeling better," Chrissie advised, waiting for him to speak.

"Good Lord!" that was all Roger could say, in the face of such a discovery and analysis of himself "I am ... Really ... In love ... For Dominique!"

"Uh huh," his friend confirmed.

"But ... But ... What do I do with this now?" he was sincere, he knew very well that he had rarely felt that way, and now that he knew what he felt, he wanted everything to work out, he wanted to know how to act.

"Be sincere!" said Brian, who had been listening to the conversation for some time, amused, but also worrying about the upset state of his best friend "thay was what worked for me."

Brian sat down next to Chrissie, kissing her cheek. The show of affection between the two left Roger somewhat agonized, remembering his own situation, wishing to be that way with Dominique, but also remembering something that Brian said when he ended his date with Jo, that he would one day fall in love truly, and would understand what it was to suffer for love. As always, Bri was right.

"How long have you been listening?" Roger was indignant at his friend's curious attitude.

"Hey, you can't blame me for that, I'm in my house," Brian countered, "but seriously Rog, try to do what I said."

"What if she doesn't feel the same as me?" Roger knew that was possible, since Dom only wanted to be his friend.

"Well, you're still be friends," Chrissie moaned a little as she said this, "it hurts, but it's the right thing to do."

"Anyway, Roger, I'm happy for you." Brian was sincere.

"Are you happy for me?" Taylor was offended, since his best friend was happy because he was devastated and miserable "but I'm suffering, man ... Very much..."

"I'm happy because my best friend finally fell in love with someone," May clarified, smiling. "It's suffering, that's part of it, but it's the best feeling in the world."

The look Brian exchanged with Chrissie made Roger feel bad again.

"I have an idea, Rog." Mrs; May told him "I can invite Dominique to one of our movie nights, if she comes, then the rest is up to you, what do you think?"

"It sounds like a good plan," Roger agreed, comforted by his friend's kindness and intelligence. "Thank you, Chrissie."

"You're welcome," she said heartily.

Roger only considered the idea of Mrs. May for a while, and decided to make the most of this possible opportunity. If he loved Dominique, he would make that clear to her the next time they met, and if they were going to be together or not, out of love for her, he would be willing to accept either option.


	10. Expectation

Always focused on work, but also, learning to deal with this new dilemma in her life (not a dilemma in itself, it was a good thing the love she felt for Roger, but she still didn't know what would happen, which made her anxious ), Dominique woke up and went to work. Early in the morning she was busy organizing paperwork, answering phone calls, solving problems, nothing out of the ordinary, except for a little visit Ms. Beyrand wasn't expecting.

She saw Chrissie May approaching, and as much as she was pleased with the sudden visit, she was picturing her motive.

"Chrissie, hi!" Dominique said excitedly, "Are you all right? Did you bring some complaint from Queen to Mr. Branson?"

"Um no?" Mrs. May wondered the question.

"I'm kidding, I'm sorry to scare you." Ms. Beyrand skirted the situation.

"Well, in that case I'm fine, we're all are." Chrissie hesitated a little. "Actually, I've come to talk to you."

"To me? This is rare" Dominique was surprised, generally no one came to her for more than asking for help or complaining about something.

"I came to invite you to a meeting at my house, you know?" said Mrs. May "We have this tradition of watching movies whenever the boys have a break, and if Queen didn't traumatize you too much, it would be nice if you came."

"Wow, I ... I don't know what to say, thank you for the invitation" the assistant was surprised again, feeling flattered, thinking it was weird for someone to remember her for such an occasion "no one has ever invited me to something like this ..."

It was true that for a long time Dominique hadn't made friends in London, her main focus had always been work and do her best, but at the end of the day she felt alone. Now, Chrissie May, whom she had seen few times but was always very kind to her was inviting her to an event with friends, people who were willing to welcome her into their group.

"It will be a pleasure to go," she decided, still remembering certain setbacks, dealing with her own secret, "and don't worry, taking out the way Roger and I start with the left foot, the boys of Queen are perfect gentlemen."

"With a few exceptions," it was clear that Chrissie had referred to Roger, but the comment made Dom smile "look, so I don't disturb you anymore, give me your contact number and I'll call you to explain my address."

"Oh, yes, that's okay." Dominique hurried to write her number, handing it to her soon enough. "Call me at night, that's when I'm home."

"I will," said Mrs. May "and thank you for accepting the invitation Dom."

"You're welcome," Dominique smiled at her. "Bye, Chrissie!"

"Goodbye!" said Mrs. May, letting the assistant get back to work.

Before she returned to her responsabilities, Dominique thought that perhaps she would have the chance to talk to Roger at that time, to come to an agreement on their feelings together. Knowing this made her quiet but still anxious, however, she still had a long day of work ahead and continued to face it.

Eventually, the night came and she was there, waiting for Chrissie's call, for the Mays' address. Without Dominique's knowledge, just at the Mays' house, at that moment, Roger was paying attention on the phone too. He watched Chrissie calling someone and as soon as he heard the name of his beloved being told by her, he sneaked behind his friend, wondering if Dom would come or not for the movie night.

"Hello? Dominique? It's Chrissie," Ms. Beyrand heard as soon as she picked up the phone "so can I give you my address now?"

"Yes, I'll write it down." Dominique already had a paper and pen in her hand and wrote the address.

"Shall we meet next week then?" Chrissie wanted to confirm.

"Yes, yes, we will," Dom answered immediately, also thinking of something else, wanting to be sure, she went ahead and asked "look, Roger will be there too?"

"Yes..." Mrs. May said vaguely, thoughtfully "why, if I may ask?"

"It's just that ..." she couldn't help but let it out, she felt she should be sincere, even if she was a little embarrassed, but even so, Dominique knew it was safe to open her heart to Chrissie "I don't even know if I should be telling you this, but it's ... I think he's a really nice guy, what you and the girls said about him, I mean the good stuff, I realized that he really is. And there's also ... the way he looked at me after I did those pranks, I thought he was going to want to kill me, but he laughed! No one has ever reacted like this to my pranks, and after that, the way he has given himself to apologize and start over, he cared about my feelings, and when I talk to him ... he looks at me like I'm the one only girl in the world. And look, I know it's true, I know how to differentiate womanizers from real love. Maybe he's a womanizer, but he's acting different with me ... Oh ... I don't know Chrissie ... maybe I like him too."

Roger was behind the wall that separated the space between him and Mrs. May, and realizing that Chrissie had been silent for so long, he feared what Dominique might have said. He then went to his best friend's wife, distressed and anxious, trying to figure it all out.

"Then perhaps you-" Mrs. May hesitated a little "can come here and talk to him."

"I'm going to try." Now that everything seemed so real and close, Dominique let her anxiety creep in, and at the same time she felt better after telling her feelings to someone "thank you for listening to me, Chrissie."

"Oh don't worry, I'm here to help" Mrs. May was sincere, always willing to help "bye!"

So Chrissie put the phone back on the hook, preparing to scold Roger.

"You came and listened because you heard me talking to Dominique, didn't you?" she said reproachfully.

"Was it her? I knew it" he said angrily for Chrissie to make so much mystery, but soon gave way to curiosity "she spoke of me? Did she ask about me? Is she coming here?!"

"Wow!" she blurted out, stunned. "Calm down, Taylor. Yes, it was her, she asked if you were going to be here the day she is coming, I said yes, and she said she will come."

"Anything else?" He was still desperate, with a look of pity.

"Roger, stay calm, it's going to be all right," Chrissie said with conviction, patting her friend's shoulder comfortingly.

"How can you be so sure?" Roger felt confused and lost, afraid the worst might happen.

"I just know!" Chrissie assured him, struggling to keep the secret.

Roger knew there was no point in being nervous, however hard it was to avoid being worried, but at least he would have another opportunity to speak to Dominique, an opportunity he wouldn't waste.


	11. Compliting Each Other

Roger had spent the day in the studio, composing, rehearsing, making decisions for the band together with his teammates, and once they were done, he went straight to Brian's house with him. That day, John was quieter and more serious than usual, and everyone noticed it, which led to the group's concern and curiosity.

"There is something wrong with John, definitely" that's what Roger said about it, but there was something else that was agonizing him "but changing the subject ...."

He approached Chrissie, eager to hear more about Dominique.

"How's your cupid job working?" he asked her quietly, trying to disguise his despair.

"Come on, Roger, calm down," Chrissie said a little impatiently, "she'll come, okay? You're getting more anxious than me because of this ..."

"Another proof that he really does love Dominique," Brian concluded from his nervousness, "May God help us all!"

"Oh, He will." Chrissie smiled and whispered something in her husband's ear that the poor man in love didn't hear, which made Roger even more confused.

"Oh!" Bri was surprised, but positively.

"Don't tell anyone!" Chrissie emphasized to him.

"I hate it when you do that," Roger lamented and his frustration made him lie down on the living room couch, trying to deal with his own haste and curiosity.

After work Dominique returned home, got ready quickly, and taking a deep breath, using her strength to keep her emotions in balance, she headed for the Mays house.

She was very attentive as she walked the streets of Barnes, not to get lost. Recognizing the house number, Dominique soon noticed the familiar, warm atmosphere the house reflected, even just from its facade. It was a great place to get in, she was sure she would feel good there.

Dominique then rang the bell, waiting for who would answer it. When Chrissie opened the door a moment later, she noticed a commotion and noise from everyone present.

"Did I come at a bad time?" Dominique deduced, feeling bad for interrupting what seemed like an important moment.

"Oh don't worry, despite the mess, I guarantee all this is for a very good thing." Mrs. May soon clarified "come in, please."

Miss Beyrand noticed who was there, she already knew everyone, and of course, her automatic smile came when she saw Roger.

"Dominique!" he went to her, a little flustered, but in sincere joy "you came ..."

"Chrissie made a point of going to my work to invite me, so I couldn't refuse it," she gave a formal, casual answer, not mentioning exactly the strongest reason to come.

When Dominique said hello to everyone and found out the reason for the noise of a few moments ago, John and Veronica had said they were expecting a child.

"Congratulations!" The news made Dominique happy for them, which made her hug Veronica "may you continue to be very happy, because I can see that you already are."

"Oh, thanks," John thanked her shyly.

"Well now that we've got everything sorted out and celebrated, let's go to the movie," Brian announced, drawing everyone's attention.

So each snuggled into a seat while the homeowner turned on the television, Ben Hur was about to start on the BBC. When Brian turned off the light, most of them looked at the movie, including Dominique. This until she was distracted by Freddie and Roger commenting on what they were seeing. Watching Roger so closely only gave her more certainty of what she felt for him.

It was inevitable that they would exchange glances occasionally, no matter how much Roger was talking to Freddie, he noticed Dominique watching him, when he realized that the look she was giving him meant the same as when he looked at her. He couldn't stand being silent now, with his beloved so close, and all he needed to get her even closer was to talk to her. Roger knew he had to act now.

Ignoring everyone's presence, because if he wanted to talk to Dominique alone, he had to find a way out, Roger leaned a little closer toward her, looking at her with determination, but also full of tenderness and supplication.

"Come with me, please," he finally asked.

Dominique was completely surrendered and nodded slightly. Roger gestured to Brian, pointing a thumb out, indicating they were leaving, which the homeowner understood.

When they reached the street, Roger had no clear plan of what to do. But Dominique, held back to control her curiosity, her anxiety. She felt like asking at once what he intended with all this, but she just kept walking beside him, realizing that he was looking down, thoughtful. Roger knew he had to do something, he was still building up courage, trying to control the great emotion that he had never felt invading him at that moment.

It was then that he decided to stop before they reached the fountain in middle of Barnes. All that silence and mystery drained Dominique's patience, and she was afraid he might faint or something.

"What's wrong, Rog?" She crossed her arms, but her question was delicate.

It was funny how the answer to that question was all about who had asked it. Roger decided to answer her the only way he could, opening his heart.

"Sit down, please." He thought it best to prepare her, sitting himself on the edge of the fountain, and she did the same. "I need to tell you something, if not, I can't live anymore."

It seemed a great exaggeration, but Dominique was amazed and worried by that description.

"You can tell me, Roger." She was willing to hear him.

"I never felt for anyone what I feel for you, I know it sounds cliché, but it's the truth. Dominique" his voice was low, thrilled but determined, Roger kept his gaze on her eyes "I don't know if you feel the same way about me, but I needed to tell you, I ... fell in love with you, Dom, really."

Dominique shuddered at those words, it was just the confession she expected, the sincerity, the true feeling of the man she loved, to be sure that he could open her heart as well as he did for her. During a moment of her silence, Roger's emotion made him cry, in that confession was all his heart, tears were another proof that what he felt for Dominique was real.

His cry moved her so much and made her hold one of his hands to comfort him. Roger remembered when he held her hand like that. He looked at Dominique again, begging her to answer something. She built up courage and sighed.

"Since a little after my pranks, I was delighted with you" she was sincere, not letting go of his hand "precisely for showing me a little of who you really are, so considerate, loving and, I confess that charm helps a little, then, Mr. Taylor, didn't I fall in love with you too? And if you want me to be your girlfriend, I'll be very happy."

What Dominique mentioned startled him, was that what she really wanted? To be his girlfriend? Roger was too happy to believe it was all he wanted, that he needed to hear from her right now.

"Really?" He laughed with pure happiness "I don't believe it! Pinch me to see if I'm dreaming."

And so she understood that a deal had been made between their hearts, just one more gesture to seal what they both wanted.

"I have a better idea than a pinch," Dominique said playfully.

Surrendering to love and at that moment, she kissed Roger slowly, and as he reciprocated, she knew it was the choice she had to make so that her heart would be totally at peace, and e he felt complete as he hadn't felt in all his life.

"Oh my God ..." she murmured when the kiss ended, her eyes closed, their foreheads touching.

"Thank you." Roger pulled away just a little, just to look at her a little more, with a completely enamored look. "Thank you, Dom, for accepting me."

"I thank you for insisting" she managed to laugh "otherwise I wouldn't realize that I ..."

He sensed Dominique's embarrassment, but wondered what she wanted to say, it was the same as he felt, yet they both understood that it was maybe a little early for that, but it was undeniable that the feeling was there.

"Thanks, thank you so much for giving me another chance." Roger was sincere, knew he didn't deserve a girl like her, so he was committed to doing his best to reward her.

"You're welcome." Dominique contented herself with a simple but meaningful answer.

She smiled at Roger, who approached again, kissing her this time.

"We'd better get back," she remembered what they had left behind. "The group must be worried."

"Sure," he agreed, "but first, I wanted to ask you just one more thing."

"Yeah, what is it?" she laughed softly.

"Can we let everyone know we're dating?" He gave an exaggerated smile, unable to contain himself.

"Yes, we can," Dominique laughed, rising, kissing her boyfriend's cheek, holding the hand he offered her.

Close to each other, they walked back to the Mays house, knowing they needed nothing more, the only thing missing in their life they found in each other.


	12. A ride to home

Roger made sure to open the door for his girlfriend, and then Dominique entered the house, careful not to make any noise. He followed her and even more carefully, so as not to disturb anyone or draw attention, they returned to their seats.

It was a wonderful feeling to sit side by side, to be so close, with no barrier to stop them. Roger was grateful, embarrassed to have a treasure like Dominique in his life, and she, even a little amazed but happy, to have found love in someone so unlikely, and because of him, to be received so well by everyone, she felt part of that group of friends.

Dominique eventually laid her head on Roger's shoulder and he gently wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer, she settled herself on his chest. Making her even more comfortable, he caressed her back.

"I'm glad we didn't miss the chariot race scene," Roger told Dominique with as little noise as possible, "that's the only part I like about this movie ..."

"Ben Hur is so much more than that, Rog ..." She shook her head, laughing softly, deciding to pay attention to the movie before anyone got angry.

The epic adventure of Judah Ben Hur was indeed an interesting and captivating story to watch, but because it is a very long movie, it tired everyone out, but it didn't detract from Roger's exciment. Before everybody left, he looked at his girlfriend suggestively. Dominique already knew what this was about and just nodded with a smile, authorizing him to tell at that moment.

"Guys, guys!" he called to them excitedly as she stood up to stand beside him "since today is the day of pronouncements, let me tell you that Dominique and I are officially dating."

It was something Chrissie and Brian had hoped would happen, Veronica and Mary were surprised, but Freddie and John were really scared after seeing so much tension between these two during the Hyde Park concert. Dominique wasn't offended by all that reaction, on the contrary, she found it plausible and amused. She kissed Roger's cheek right then.

"He has another girlfriend again," John said, but jokingly so as not to offend Dom.

"At last!" Freddie shouted in relief.

"Yeah ... Good luck Dom ..." Mary pretended to be sorry.

"Hey!" Roger was offended.

"I'm kidding," she laughed back.

"Finally! It's about time! I couldn't bear to see this boy suffering anymore…” Chrissie confessed, covering her face with her hands, relieved to finally see her friend well.

"Congratulations, man." Brian gave his best friend a smile.

And that was how the new couple said goodbye to the group, Dominique already feeling comfortable between them and Roger was still dealing with a happiness that he had barely felt in his life.

"Dom, let me take you home, will you allow me?" Roger offered before she left.

"Ah, I was already expecting this chivalry from my boyfriend," she teased, folding her arms and frowning.

"Did you really think I was going to let you take a bus alone at a time like this? No way, my darling!" he laughed, kissing her cheek, leading her to his car.

It was another small gesture, very simple, but that surprised Dominique again, here was Roger, being thoughtful and careful. And he, while opening the car door for Dominique to enter, ended up laughing at himself.

"What is it?" His girlfriend smiled, wondering the reason for that laugh.

"Nothing, just a silly thing." Roger shook his head and started the car. "Once I made fun of Brian for calling Chrissie for the most ridiculous nicknames, and I just called you my darling, just like Bri does."

"I don't care, really," Dominique replied promptly, delighted. "In fact, I love when you call me Dom, or my darling, as you did now."

At that she looked away, feeling silly for looking like a teenage girl with her first boyfriend.

"Oh my God, I'm so silly ..." She laughed to herself, rubbing a hand over her face.

"Don't think that about you Dom, you're not at all silly." Roger smiled at her, taking her hand and kissing her fingers quickly, the gesture melting Dominique's heart even more.

She gathered herself to explain to her boyfriend where she lived. Roger entered the simple but well-maintained two-story building. Dominique then stopped in front of one of the doors, indicating that they had arrived at her apartment.

"Well, this is where I live, Mr. Taylor" she sighed, clasping her hands behind her back "I think that's it for today so it was a memorable night."

"Unforgettable for sure," Roger agreed completely, admiring his dear Dominique in front of him.

They exchanged one more look and leaned together for another kiss, Roger's hands lightly touching her back as Dominique held his face in her hands.

"Good night, Rog," she wished after they parted.

"Wait Dom, there's just one more thing I want, not one but two, maybe," he joked and she looked suspiciously at him "I want your phone number, I think now it's fair to me to have your number because I care a lot about my girlfriend and I'll want to call her a lot."

"You are very smarty pants!" She pointed an index finger at him, and still pressed his cheeks between her thumb and other fingers. "I'll be right back."

Roger laughed, rubbing his cheek where she had pressed as he watched her enter the apartment, waiting for her at the entrance. Dominique handed him a piece of paper, with her phone number, he put it in his jacket pocket.

"You won't want mine too?" he ventured.

"I still have Queen's files at Branson's office, I guess it's okay for me to copy your number from there," Dominique snapped.

"And look how smart you are too," Roger laughed. "Fine, no problem, but seriously now, I just want one more kiss before I leave."

"Just one more." She imposed the conditions, but wanted one more kiss as well.

"Okay" Roger agreed and approached kissing her again "good night Dom, see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" She thought sudden, but not bad "Okay, I can't wait for it."

"Goodbye!" he said, giving that typical smirk.

"Bye." Dominique nodded and watched him leave.

When she entered the apartment and locked the door, it was there that she felt even more like a teenage girl in love, completely enchanted by her boyfriend. She had a boyfriend, one who was wonderful, who was very different from what she thought he was when they first met.

Going back home, Roger thought about how things would be different going forward, Dominique had started making him change for the better and that was how he wanted to continue to be to make her very happy.


	13. A first date

It was strange for Dominique to reconcile the news about herself, now she had a boyfriend, not any boyfriend, it was Roger Taylor, Queen's drummer, but that wasn't all that made him who he was.

Dominique never imagined she would date an artist like him, but her falling in love with Roger had very little to do with it, it was what was in his heart that won her over. So she was still impressed, amazed to know she was so loved by him, and he by her.

She went to work normally, but happier than usual, and unintentionally, she let it show. The people she met that day noticed her smiling and much friendlier, if possible.

Among the calls Dominique answered that morning, there was one that made her smile even more.

"Hello?" Roger said simply, waiting excitedly to see her reaction.

"Roger!" She said a little louder than usual, holding back after realizing this "what a surprise ... I didn't expect you to call me at the office ..."

"It's because I knew you were working now," he replied, "and I needed to talk to you."

"It's very important? I'm sorry to talk like that, but you can't be long" Dominique explained her situation "I'm busy, I have other calls to answer."

"Of course, sorry to disturb you" Roger felt a little embarrassed about it "I really called to ask you just one thing."

"What?" She already expected something unusual.

"Would you like to have lunch with me? Tell me what time you leave and I'll pick you up,” Roger proposed bluntly.

"Seriously? Yes, I do, I really like to, Rog" she got excited again "I'm leaving at 11:30, I'll be waiting for you, and where are we going, if I may know?"

"Oh, I want it to be a surprise, I just say it's a place I like very much." He looked mysterious.

"Okay, I'll wait until lunch to find out" Dominique replied "now I really have to hang up, but I loved that you called."

"I loved talking to you," Roger said, with that silly passionate smile on his face, "and I promise to do it more often, without disturbing you, of course."

"Okay, see you later, bye," Dominique said good-bye, speaking softly.

"Bye, see ya." He hung up, eager to see his girlfriend again.

Roger was always anxious when it came to meeting a girlfriend, but his anxiety to see Dominique was different. With other girls, the feeling had always been fleeting, frayed by fights and disagreements, when he realized too late that he had nothing to do with the girl he was dating. With Dominique, things were no longer like that, Roger was willing to give in, give up, do his best to always agree with her, and they matched so much, it was something he had realized since laughing at her jokes with him. .

Despite being delighted with his girlfriend, Roger still had a working morning ahead. He and his band mates were starting to think about ideas for the new album, and define what their next work would be like. Freddie described something very elaborate, completely unusual, but something to expect from him. It was so creative and innovative that there was no way John, Brian and Roger could say no. So they set out what to propose to the EMI producer at their next meeting with him.

It was with the news of the next album and, of course, full of curiosity to know how was the day of Dominique, that Roger went to meet her at her lunch break. He spotted her as he walked through the door to Benson's office. Dominique was focused, absorbed in what she was doing, attentive to every detail, and Roger only admired her for a moment. When she looked up quickly, she realized that her boyfriend was watching her, in the typical way of people in love.

"Rog?" she called with a smile, finding him cute.

"I didn't know if I could interrupt you," he answered right away.

"Oh I got it, you did very well" she nodded "I can go now, so let's go?"

"Let's go," Roger agreed, waiting to get up and follow him.

They held hands very naturally, which made them be surprised by each other's reciprocal gesture. Roger opened the car door for her, and Dominique sat in the front seat, already getting used to the idea that this was her place now.

"Now can you tell me where we are going?" she said, genuinely curious.

"Well, since you insist so much" Roger shrugged "and to be honest, I understand your impatience ..."

"Hey, I'm not impatient!" she laughed, somewhat indignantly.

"Oh sorry, but that's impatience, at least you're being impatient now," argued her boyfriend.

“Stop it, Rog!” Dominique patted his arm playfully.

"Okay, right - he raised a hand in defense, without taking the other off the wheel "it's my favorite restaurant, I always like there, I thought it would be nice to take you there to know the place."

"Oh yes" Dominique understood "I liked the idea."

It was a while before they reached the "Corner's Servant", Roger sat in his usual place where he was always alone, but as Dominique sat in front of him, he had to sigh loudly.

"What is it?" his girlfriend was curious and worried.

"Not much, I mean ..." He hesitated a little, then cleared his throat, deciding to be honest. "I always came here alone, and sometimes I felt this feeling of emptiness, of missing something in my life, but now that you're here, I'm missing nothing more."

"Oh ... Roger ..." That caught Dominique off guard and thrilled her "wanna know something? I feel the same since you came into my life."

He just smiled at her, grateful to hear that, to know that he was able to complete her. He touched Dominique's hand across the table and she, in the heat of emotion, eventually leaned toward him. Roger understood and captured her lips with his, not caring that they were in a public place. The couple would let themselves go if it wasn't for a buzz they heard near them.

"Huh ... can I help you?" Roger turned to a group of three girls, confused "I'm sorry for that, if somehow we offended someone with ..."

"You're Roger Taylor, aren't you?" said the tallest and oldest of the three, excited "yes, you are! Can we give you a hug? And then you autograph my t-shirt?"

"Of course, miss." Roger gave a grim smile, as much as he understood what it was all about.

Dominique watched the scene curiously, paying attention to her boyfriend's every move. She even rested her chin on her hand, just being silent and attentive. Roger finished meeting the girls, and the smallest one turned to Dominique before leaving.

"You are very lucky, miss..." said the fan and left, leaving Dom a little uncomfortable, but flattered.

"Sorry for that" Roger thought it best to apologize, thinking that his girlfriend had found it all a bad thing "it wasn't my fault, as much as it is my fault, somehow, I just hope you didn't feel bad about it ..."

"Roger, it's fine" Dominique found it important to assure him - I understand this part of your life, I've dealt with it for some time, somehow, seeing so many artists being cheered and admired, I figured I would go through the same thing as soon as I become your girlfriend."

"But doesn't that whole approach bother you, not at all?" Roger wanted to make sure.

"Maybe I bother with fans who take liberties and don't understand that you already have a girlfriend" she became serious "but other than that, I understand that you are famous, you will be dear to many people and admired and all, but just don't forget about me because of all this, and who you are to me."

"No, no, Dom, no way." He shook his head vigorously and held her hand across the table. "You're too special for me, and I say it with all my heart, because ..." He blinked, looking away, sighing deeply before looking at his beloved again "I love you, Dominique."

And here again was Roger, completely sincere, open-hearted, and his being like that with her was one of the things she admired most about him. Dominique, following his example, felt it was the right time to say in words everything she had been feeling for a long time.

"I love you, Roger," she replied, so grateful that he responded.

He just smiled, not the sideways smile, but a sincere, happy, thankful smile, too. Without further ado, they placed their order, Roger asking the usual and Dominique trying something new. As they ate and talked a little more about their morning, they had made a deal about how they would handle Queen's fame and everything it brought to their lives.


	14. In Roger's apartment

Despite his reputation of being desorganized, Roger Taylor could be very organized when he wanted to be, and that day he needed to be organized. It wouldn't be the first time Dominique had come to her apartment, they had visited each other's house several times now that they were dating, but when it was her turn to go to his apartment, he did his best to leave everything in place to receive his girlfriend in the best way possible.

They didn't have many plans for that night, just enjoy each other's company. Anxiously Dominique left work, quickly went home to change, and only then went to her boyfriend's apartment. When Roger opened the door, Domi was startled to find him. He looked tired, as if he had just run a marathon.

"Hi" she said worried and uncertain, kissing his cheek to greet him "are you okay?"

"I am, I ..." Roger was embarrassed, scratching his neck "I was just finishing everything here and I think I'm not done yet."

"Really?" Dominique automatically took a look at the apartment, judging its condition "everything is in order here for me."

There was some things out of place, but she didn't care, she knew how to recognize her boyfriend's efforts.

"Are you sure it couldn't get better?" He wanted to make sure.

"Maybe, but Roger, never mind, this housekeeping obsession doesn't suit you," Dominique was honest in his words.

"You mean you like my messy way?" He gave her his iconic smirky smile.

"Oh, it's not like that," she turned her head, speaking in an amused tone. "I like my boyfriend organized just in the right way."

"Well, so today I was organized the right way?" Roger asked.

"Yes, you were," Dominique eventually agreed, "but ending this conversation, what you did of interesting today?"

"Oh the boys and I discussed the new album" Roger said "Freddie wants to enjoy that now that we have a certain fan base and a little more autonomy, he wants to do something very unusual and different."

"Oh, mysterious plans of Freddie Mercury!" Dominique made a sinister voice, joking. "I wish I knew more, if you can tell, but if you can't, I'll understand."

"No, love, it's okay for you to know," he grinned. "By the way, I hope you don't get sick of the band thing, because I'll want to tell you a lot about it."

"And I won't mind," Dominique smiled with satisfaction. "Don't be convinced by what I'm going to say, but I loved Queen when I first listened to the records, just before I met you, and I really enjoyed your songs."

"Look, it seems that my musical talents conquered you first!" He shrugged and frowned playfully.

"Oh Roger!" She rubbed a hand over her face. "Not quite, but I admit that your talent helped me fall in love with you."

He just smiled back, admiring what his girlfriend said, taking the time to thank her for that with a quick kiss.

"Are you hungry, Dom?" Roger asked right then "because I am."

"Of course you are, that's so typical of you." She rolled her eyes. "But yeah, you're not wrong about me."

"Then do us both a favor and order a pizza," Roger suggested, and Dominique didn't think it was a bad idea.

She smiled at her boyfriend and got up, going to the phone in the hallway. She dialed the number of the pizza place he used to call, which he already knew by heart, and while he waited, he noticed other things nearby.

There was a coffee table in the hallway, on top of it were some picture frames. Most of the photos were of Roger alone, Dominique knew her boyfriend had an inflated ego a few times, which explained that, but finding photos of Roger with Brian, Freddie and John made her smile. There was one of Roger with an older lady and another of him with a girl, much like him. It could only be Roger's mother and sister, Clare.

In addition to the photos, Dominique found a peculiar object there, glasses had been forgotten near the portraits, not sunglasses like the ones Roger used to wear, but eyeglasses. Then her mind began to wonder to whom these glasses might belong to, and deep down she hoped it wasn't of another girl. However, she trusted Roger, she wouldn't scandal for something so simple, and was content to think that it had another plausible explanation.

After ordering the pizza, Dominique finally returned to the living room, finding Roger doing something strange again. For someone who was so preoccupied with housekeeping, that was ironic.

"Are you alright, Rog?" Dom asked, puzzled.

Her boyfriend twisted the cushions on the couch, which was crooked and out of place.

"Oh promise you won't find me stupid for that?" he laughed awkwardly, his hands on his hips.

"I promise, just tell me." She smiled.

"I lost the TV remote, and I don't remember where I put my glasses either," he explained. "I'd find it faster if I could see straight."

"Wait, do you wear glasses? Eyeglasses?" Dominique was surprised, but soon answered her question.

"Oh yes, I don't like it much, but I do need it from time to time." Roger shrugged.

"I see." She was sympathetic, but still a little surprised to find out about this fact about her boyfriend. "I saw it before, I know where it is, I'll get it to you."

"Really?" Roger was amazed "you are my angel, Dominique."

"Um hum, I know," she giggled as she walked down the hall, grabbing his glasses and handing it to Roger.

"Thanks," he said and put them on, seeking for the remote again, Dominique laughed before starting to help him search.

They found the remote over the fridge where Roger laughed at himself and only then did he and Dominique snuggle up on the couch to watch a movie that was playing. They were lucky to find "007 - Live and Let Die," which was one of their favorite movies, and made them discover how much they liked James Bond.

"Are you serious about liking 007 too?" Dominique asked, very excited "have you read the books?"

"Books? What books?" Roger was pretended to be misinformed.

"Don't tell me you don't know the movies are based on books?" She narrowed her eyes, which intimidated her boyfriend a little.

"Of course I know, I'm just kidding" he laughed "I only read after watching the movies."

"Oh I read before!" Dom was thrilled "I was so fond of imagining all those intrigues and action scenes."

"I don't think the movies do justice to the imagination," Roger mused, "but that doesn't mean the movies are bad."

"No, I understand what you mean," she nodded. "You imagine the things that are described in the books and the movie, watching the scenes, you get excited about the action."

They turned their attention back to the movie, and when the pizza arrived, Roger made sure to get up so that Dominique didn't miss a moment. Unceremoniously, she took a piece with her hand, but nibbling as gracefully as the elegant girl she was.

Her boyfriend watched her do it, marveling at such a simple gesture. He widened his smile a little more and stopped staring at Dominique before she found him weird. She noticed what he was doing, just smiled and kissed her boyfriend's cheek quickly. Roger grinned back, and only then took a piece of pizza, sharing the meal with Dominique. They didn't mind messing it up with crumbs, it didn't spoil the perfect moment they were having together.


	15. Françoise's call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italic words represent French dialogue.

Dominique ended the workday, tired but pleased that she had achieved all the goals of the day. This time she was leaving alone, preparing for the subway journey to her house, but she had seen Roger over lunch that day.

Having to leave alone made her miss him, but she understood that he was busy with his work, yet another consolation for Dominique was that he would soon be coming to pick her up for going to the Mays' house later. It was a tradition for the boys to leave the studio and go straight to Brian and Chrissie's, and Roger had mentioned at lunch that they would go there together.

Dominique took the moment to get some rest, still a long time before Roger arrived. She lay on the couch and closed her eyes, feeling a little relief, but not getting sleepy. Suddenly, her lull was interrupted by a call. She soon assumed it was Roger, but was surprised to recognize the voice on the other end of the line.

" _Françoise, is that you?_  "Dominique replied in French, a little startled, surprising her sister's call.

 _"Yes, it's me, I missed you these days and decided to call you"_ the other justified your call _"I thought you had even changed the number."_

 _"No, I didn't change"_  Dominique giggled _"I was just busy ..."_

 _"I know, your freaking work,_ " Françoise said in a complaining tone. _"It's because of it that we don't talk so much."_

 _"I know, Fran, I know,"_ sighed Dominique. _"I know it looks like I've forgotten you and Mom, but it's not true, I remember you every day."_

 _"I know and I believe it, we just miss you,"_ Françoise pointed out, _"but is there anything different about your life besides work?"Maybe a trip to see us?"_

 _"Okay, Fran, I understand that you want to see me, but at the moment it's been kind of difficult for me"_ Dominique tried to appeal to her sister's understanding, but was surprised by the doorbell _"Françoise, wait just a minute okay?"_

Françoise scowled at the realization that her sister would leave her talking to herself, but she thought it best to keep waiting. Dominique, on the other hand, ran to the door, attending to exactly who she expected to be.

"Hi Rog," she smiled at the sight of him. "I liked the hat, by the way."

"Thank you" Roger pulled the brim off his hat, which Dominique acknowledged to be the same one she had seen him wearing in the photos Queen had taken in Japan - are you ready to go, or do you want to wait a little longer?"

"Oh, honey, I'm on the phone," Dominique remembered, "wait a minute."

Roger nodded, but wondered at her haste. She then spoke back on the phone.

 _"Françoise, it's me again"_ she said - " _look, I'm very grateful to you've called, really, my sister, I have an appointment for soon, my boyfriend just came to pick me up ..."_

 _"Wait, did you say boyfriend?!"_  Françoise was scared _"what is this boyfriend's story? Since when do you have a boyfriend, Dominique ?!"_

 _"Well, it's been a while, I was going to tell you, I was just thinking about how I was going to do this ..."_  Dom was suddenly embarrassed, which worried Roger.

 _"Okay, no pressure, Dom"_  Françoise sighed _"I can call you later, and then you tell me this story right."_

 _"I'll tell you if you don't tell Mom,"_ Dominique imposed the condition.

 _"Okay, I'll wait, you always get what you want, after all"_   Fran ended up laughing _"I'_ _ll talk to you later then, bye."_

 _"Okay, bye,"_ Dominique finally ended the call.

"Did something serious happen in France? Is everything okay with your family?" Her boyfriend didn't take long to ask.

"Oh yeah, ir's all fine, really Roger" Dominique gave him a reassuring smile "it's just my sister who called, a surprise call."

"But you seemed to be having a pretty tense conversation." Roger wasn't convinced yet.

"I don't know if you speak French, but it was no big deal," she replied.

"No, I don't, so I needed you to tell me what happened," he insisted a little more.

"I hope this is all concern and not curiosity, Roger Meddows Taylor!"  She tried to play, but without much success.

"You know it's concern," he said more seriously than she did.

"You wanna know? I'm going to tell you on the way, I promise.” She hurried him, even pushing him slightly out of the apartment.

A while later, when they were already on their way to the Mays' house, Dominique started the subject.

"Well, Françoise called me all of a sudden" Dom started telling her "she charged me that I haven't been calling her and Mommy too much and that I've been working too hard, but then I mentioned you and now I'll have to tell you that we're dating, and ... I postponed doing that because ... I was afraid of their reaction to me having a boyfriend, what they will think of you, anyway, all this ..."

It was amazing to Roger to see Dominique with fear or apprehension of something, she was always so fearless and serious that he thought it was impossible to happen. But here she was, afraid to tell her family something that depended on their approval. For this reason, Roger understood, he went through this when he said he wanted to be an artist to his parents, and didn't receive so many approvals, especially from his father. That was also why Dominique was different, she cared about how her family would welcome him. Roger in the past didn't care much about introducing himself to his girlfriends' parents, in some cases he even ran away from it, but because he loved Dominique, he wanted to act very differently with her.

"If you want, I can tell about us to your mother and sister," he offered, "I say I have the best intentions in the world with you, and they can rest easy because you're in good hands."

"Ah Roger, that's great" she gave a relieved smile "but look, they barely understand English, just very little."

"Teach me to speak French then" Roger saw no obstacle "I would love to learn and hear you speak had already made me want to learn, now we have another reason for that."

"Okay then," Dominique nodded. "We can start with a vocabulary that has what we want you to talk to my family."

 _"Oui_ " Roger risked, which made his girlfriend smile.

She was much calmer when they arrived, being greeted by Brian and Chrissie, and the rest of the group. They sat together, talking for a while, and when Chrissie was gone for a moment Dominique saw an opportunity to talk to her and followed her into the kitchen.

"Chrissie, can I talk to you a little bit?" Miss. Beyrand approached, atypically shy.

"Sure, Dom, what is it?" Mrs. May was helpful.

"Oh, is that ..." Dominique looked down "I was worried about something and thought you might help me, you know, since you're the unofficial advisor of the group, and maybe you better understand what I'm going through."

"Yeah, I think I'm kind of the counselor," Chrissie let out a giggle, "but Dom, just say so."

"Yeah, well I haven't told my sister and my mother yet that Roger and I are dating" she confessed "because I'm afraid of what they will think about him being an artist, maybe my mom doesn't approve, but you know, Rog was so wonderful he offered to talk to her directly."

"Great, this is really great!" Chrissie was positively surprised, giving her friend a proud smile "this will help, he introducing himself to your mother will make her realize who he really is, that his intentions with you are serious and will make her consider more his person than his profession."

"That's what happened to me, to be honest," Dominique mused. "I know my mom can hear people and understand them, hopefully that will happen to me and Rog."

"Yes, it will," Mrs. May nodded confidently.

"Thank you, Chrissie" Miss. Beyrand answered "for advice and ... For helping me see who Roger really is."

"You're welcome," Chrissie smiled and offered her a hug. "I'm very happy for you and him."

Dominique grinned back, wondering how much she had done the right thing to give Roger a chance. Chrissie, on the other hand, was proud of her friend, seeing how much he had really matured and changed.


	16. French Lessons

Roger was focused as he waited for Dominique to come to him, waiting at her apartment door. He hadn't warned that he would come, but he knew that by now she had left work, and deep down she hoped Dominique would enjoy the surprise.

In addition to wanting to see her, Roger was willing to take the first steps toward fulfilling a very important mission, introducing himself and talking to his mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Meanwhile, even tired, Dominique ran her hands over her face to wake up a little more, getting over tiredness, to see who it was.

"Hi Dom!" Roger gave her a huge smile, but hers in response was much bigger.

"Hi, I didn't expect you to come here today, I mean, I thought you would just call me or something," she said and kissed his cheek in greeting.

"Well, I hope I'm not disturbing your precious rest," he soon noted his girlfriend's haggard appearance. "I was thinking a lot about our arrangement."

"Which one?" Dominique turned to him.

"About me talking to your family, about teaching me how to speak French," he recalled.

"You're really excited about this, right?" Dominique bowed her head, smiling in admiration.

Roger nodded, and because of his good will and his love for her and what he was willing to do, Dominique ignored her tiredness and struggled to do her part. Playfully, she pulled Roger's hand and led him to the small table in the kitchen.

"Très bon Monsieur Taylor" Dominique said sitting next to him "let's start, I think first of all, let's focus on the words you want to use, what exactly and specifically do you want to talk to my sister and my mother?"

"Basically?" Roger raised his eyebrows, reflecting "hello, Mrs. Beyrand and Françoise, my name is Roger and since I met your daughter I feel like the happiest man on earth ..."

"Okay, no flattery," Dominique laughed, but her blushing cheeks handed her over, "but thanks for saying that ..."

"It's the truth!" Roger exclaimed with some emphasis.

"I know, and I love you for that" she smiled and Roger took the moment to steal a kiss from her "Concentrate, Rog!" Dominique asked between laughs.

"Okay, moving on" he got more serious "hello, my name is Roger, and it's been a while since Dominique and I met, we decided to date and we've been three and a half months together. I want you to know that I love her and she is very important to me, my intentions in my relationship with her are the best."

"That's fine with me," Dominique agreed with that statement, "now let's train by sentences."

She shared Roger's speech and they practiced word for word, but Dominique felt that learning to speak it all at once was too much. They spent the rest of the night practicing just the first sentence, pausing for Dominique to prepare dinner.

While she was cooking, she noticed Roger concentrating on every move she made. Although his admiration for his girlfriend was still in his eyes, Roger was paying more attention to how she was doing everything.

"Rog ...?" Dominique decided to ask, not knowing how to ask the right question. "You're kinda ... I don't know ..."

"Oh sorry, it's just ..." he laughed a dull laugh "I was trying to learn something else now ..."

"Like what? If you don't mind being more specific.” She crossed her arms.

"I don't understand this thing of cooking very well, you know?" He confessed "in fact I know very little, almost nothing."

"I can teach you how to cook too," Dominique soon understood, "no problem, Rog."

"Merci," he said, spending some of his basic French.

When he said goodbye to his girlfriend that night, he knew a little more how to cook and speak French. This is how they spent their time for a few days perfecting the French phrases and raw talent in the kitchen. Maybe Roger wouldn't know all about cooking, but he knew he would cook better when he felt hungry. But learning French, after finishing the study, he was just waiting for Dominique to decide the best time to call Mrs. Beyrand and Françoise.

In the meantime, the work also continued to occupy the routine of Dominique and Roger. There was a Queen show that was going to take place in London, and although it wasn't the first tim Domi had seen the boys perform, it was the first she saw it as Roger's girlfriend. So she took her place in the stateroom with Chrissie, Veronica, and Mary, feeling a little awkward about being there.

Never in her life had she imagined being in a prominent place reserved for important people, and now she was one of them. She took a deep breath, which wasn't missed by Chrissie.

"Are you all right, Dom?" Mrs. May soon offered her help.

"It's just ..." She looked at Chrissie "I think I'll take a while to get used to certain privileges ..."

"Oh I understand you, I also go through this almost always" her friend understood her "but don't worry, you learn to deal with it."

"Yeah, I hope so." Dominique nodded and smiled, turning her gaze to the stage.

The show was about to begin and when the sound and the lights came out to the audience, she automatically rose to her feet, excited about the songs she had learned to love, watching her boyfriend do one of the things he loved most, along with his friends. Friends Dominique could also call her own now.

After the show was over, she followed the girls to the dressing room, meeting the boys. Roger ran to his girlfriend when he saw her and overcame his tiredness to give her a hug that took her from the floor. Dominique felt his arms slip around her, and when she looked into his face, she saw the beads of sweat dripping from her forehead.

"It was all worth the effort," she told Roger proudly, wiping his brow. "You were amazing! All of you!"

"Thanks for the acknowledgment, Dominique!" Freddie told her, somewhat cocky but grateful.

They stayed for a while longer, waiting for the boys to change to finally leave. Brian had been faster and now the guitarist was standing beside his wife, checking his camera. May always took it behind the scenes and tonight had been no exception.

When Roger returned, he immediately stood beside Dominique, putting an arm around her shoulders, looking at her without saying a word, just conveying all his affection. Everyone was amazed to see old Taylor completely in love with just one girl, the rightful owner of his heart. The moment was captured by Brian, with Roger and Dominique noticing.

"Wait, now take another one with us looking, okay, Bri?" Roger asked, and Dom nodded, agreeing with the idea.

"Okay" Brian smiled, taking another picture with pleasure.

May's lenses etched Dominique and Roger side by side, their arms entwined with each other, their smiles beautifully true, showing how their love for each other made them feel.


	17. Mrs. Beyrand

Again, as so many times, Dominique waited for Roger to come and see her, and that day had been no different. He had arrived on time, telling a little of his day until he asked how his girlfriend had spent the day.

"Well, it went well, it was a normal day" she answered absently "but there was one thing I've been thinking ..."

"Okay, what is it?" Roger narrowed his eyebrows.

"Fine, I'll be straightforward," Dominique sighed. "Are you willing to talk to my family today, now? No problem if you find it sudden or want to wait another day ..."

"No problem, Dominique" he was calm "that's what we've been preparing for all week, so it's fine."

"Thank you, thank you very much" she hugged him "I really wanted to solve this soon, because I started to worry ..."

"No, you have nothing to worry about," Roger assured her, holding her face, "let's do what we have to do."

"Are you sure you're ready? It's really all right?" she wanted to be sure.

"You just have to call," Roger reassured, his girlfriend nodded.

Without delaying the moment, Dominique dialed her mother's house number, waiting for her to answer. Roger was waiting, seeing the apprehension on her face, he ended up touching Dominique's shoulder, to comfort her, she smiled to realize that. Finally, someone answered.

 _"Hello, Marie speaking,"_ Dominique's mother's voice announced.

 _"Mom, it's me, Dominique,"_ her daughter said cheerfully.

 _"My sweet Dominique, I miss you,"_ Marie smiled. _"How are you?" I know you work a lot, but other than that, are you ok? Are you eating right? Taking a leisure time?"_

 _"Actually, I think you'll be glad to hear that I made some new friends ..."_  Dominique introduced the subject _"I met them because of work, but we always meet to have fun together."_

 _"That's great, my dear, really great_." Mrs. Beyrand approved _"and can I learn more about your friends?"_

 _"Of course you can,"_ Dominique felt a lump in her throat, " _but there's something else I wanted to talk to you about, which has to do with my friends."_

 _"Tell me, Dom,"_ her mother asked.

 _"Well, it's just that I met a guy, Roger and well, we've been dating for a while and I'd like you to meet him!_  Dominique was talking slowly _"he's here, I ... Can I put him on the speaker? "_

 _"Yes, you can._ " Despite her surprise, Marie was pleased with the news.

 _"Wait just a little"_  her daughter warned and turned to Roger "it's my mother, she wants to talk to you, just say what we agreed, nothing more than that."

"Yeah," Roger agreed, preparing to answer, taking the phone from her hand. _"Hello?"_

 _"Hello, you must be Roger,_ " Marie said, and he recognized what she said.

 _"Mrs. Beyrand, I'm Roger Taylor, nice to talk to you_  " he said _"I'd like to say that me and your daughter have been dating for a while and she makes me feel the happiest man on earth, really, and know that I I love her so much and I have the best intentions in the world with our relationship."_

As soon as Roger finished, Dominique took the phone from him.

 _"Mom?_ " she asked. _"So what did you think of him?"_

 _"He's a sincere gentleman,"_ Marie said, " _but why didn't you let me talk to him anymore?_ "

 _"He doesn't speak much French,"_ Dominique explained with a smile.

 _"I see,"_ Marie nodded. _"But know that I liked him, I felt his sincerity, he really loves you, and I hope he takes good care of you."_

 _"Yes, yes, I know he will"_ Dom felt relieved _"I love him a lot too, Mom."_

At this she moved her lips saying "I love you" without sound, just so that Roger understood that little part, which got a smile from him.

 _"Then tell me more about him_ ," Marie asked, _"is he handsome?"_

 _"Yes, Mom, he is."_ Dominique rolled her eyes.

 _"And what does he do for a living?"_ asked the mother.

 _"Uh ... He's a drummer for a band ... Relatively famous._ " Dominique's nervousness returned.

 _"But ... I think he's different from other artists you've worked with, to have won your heart,"_ Marie deduced.

 _"Yes, that's right."_  Her daughter smiled a happy smile.

 _"Well, that's what matters, you love each other,_ " Marie assured him.

 _"Thanks, Mom,"_ Dominique thanked her heartily. _"Well, before I hang up, you can tell Fran that I'll call her later, Roger will want to talk to her too."_

 _"Of course, I'll tell her_ _,_ " Marie agreed. _"Bye, my dear."_

 _"Bye, thank you,"_ Dominique hung up.

Turning to Roger, she saw his startled face, completely glazed, in that position since he had returned the phone to Dominique.

"What did she say?" he pleaded. "I understand the part you translated, but what about the rest?"

"Well, rest assured, my mother really liked you," she said, relieved.

"Oh, good, good, good!" Roger repeated for relief and celebration "I'm happy for you ...!

"Be happy for you too, I know you already are." Dominique smirked. "I know you were just as nervous as me."

"I was, I was," he agreed. "I can't lie to you."

"Yes, my mother called you sincere" Dom gave him a more genuine smile "now you just need to talk to Françoise, but another day, right? They were very strong emotions for today ..."

"I agree." Roger smiled back.

The phone interrupted them, but this time they were calmer if it was Marie calling. Dominique then answered, dispelling the mystery.

"Chrissie, hi!" She answered her friend.

"Hi, how are you?" Mrs. May sounded worried "I called Roger and I think there's no one there, the phone just calls, so I wondered if he would be there with you."

"He is," Dominique confirmed. "We're fine, but did something happen to you?"

"No, us? We're fine,” Chrissie assured him. “It's just that we miss you today, won't you come here?"

"Oh, we will, we will" Dom thought it was good to go to the Mays house "we were solving something."

"I hope it wasn't anything serious," Chrissie's concern returned. "If I can help."

"No, no, Chrissie, I appreciate it and everything is already solved" Dominique replied "look I'll go there and explain better, see you in a moment, okay?"

"Fine, bye," Chrissie said goodbye.

"What did Chrissie want?" Roger wanted to know.

"She missed us at today's meeting, I said we were going there now" she explained.

"Oh, let's go right before she goes crazy waiting," he joked, knowing his friend's way well.

Dominique and Roger soon arrived at the Mays house, meeting John, Veronica, Mary and Freddie there as well. After saying hello to them, they found the hosts.

"Hi, you really came!" said Chrissie when she saw them.

"Hi Rog" Brian shook his hand "how are you, Dom?"

"We're fine, thank you," she smiled.

"Are you all right?" Chrissie prompted, "I was worried when you said solving something."

"Well, Roger was talking to my mother for the first time," Dom confessed.

"Ah ..." said Brian and Chrissie together, in a cute way, sharing the same understanding for their friends.

"Well, I was wondering why you didn't come," Chrissie explained her concern. "By the way, if I may say so, you've been missing these days, I missed you."

"Calm down, Mom, it's because I was practicing my French," Roger clarified.

"Now can you speak French?" Brian raised an eyebrow doubtfully.

"A little, but I can," Roger said proudly.

Chrissie and Dominique exchanged a look as the boys debated Taylor's new feat, knowing full well what they were, already expecting them to do so.


	18. Disagreements

Dominique took a deep breath, sitting in her boyfriend's apartment room. For both her and Roger, the call to her mother had been a success, everything had gone well, and Marie approved of her daughter's boyfriend. Now it was time for both of them to talk to Françoise.

From what Dominique had told Roger, her sister was a very quiet and calm person, but she worried too much about her older sister and perhaps wanted to know very specific details of Roger's life that both he and his girlfriend would be embarrassed to tell. Sharing these concerns, they agreed that they would let Dominique lead the conversation, trying to avoid the bad issues but also clarifying her sister's doubts.

Roger came to see how she was after ordering them a pizza later, releasing the phone to call Françoise.

"Are you ready?" he asked, pulling her out of a near trance state.

"Yes, yes, it will be all right." She stood up, trying to keep her confidence.

She went to the phone and dialed her family's home number in Paris.

 _"Hello?"_ Dominique recognized her mother's voice.

 _"Hello, Mom, it's me, Dom"_ she replied _"is everything okay with you?"_

 _"I'm fine, Mom, really,"_ the girl assured her. _"I'd like to talk to Françoise, is she home? Roger is here with me to talk to her."_

 _"Oh yes, I'll call her, Dominique_ ," her mother understood.

Dominique waited a moment before she heard someone talking on the other end.

 _"Dominique, hi, I'm here,_ " Françoise announced. _"Mum said you wanted to talk to me?"_

 _"Yeah, remember I told you about Roger, my boyfriend?"_  the older one was saying _"well, he's here to talk to you. Look, first listen  to what he has to say, then ask me any questions you want."_

 _"Fine, but calm down, you're very nervous."_ Françoise tried to reassure her sister.

 _"Okay, okay, I'll let him speak to you now"_ still, Dominique was not totally quiet.

 _"Hello, Françoise"_ Roger said calmly, trying to sound as natural as possible _"I'm Roger Taylor, I met your his sister in a while, we became friends and decided to date, I love your sister very much, I promise I will always love and respect her very much."_

 _"Well, this is Roger,_ " Dominique said as soon as he returned the phone. _"I hope you liked him, really, he's being honest when he says all that."_

 _"Fine, Dom, I believe you,"_ Françoise replied, _"but why didn't you let me talk to him anymore? Are you afraid I don't like him? I liked him, Dom!"_

 _"He doesn't speak French that much,_ " Dominique gave the simple answer. _"If you want to ask anything, tell me that I answer."_

 _"That's going to be a little weird, I think_ " Fran was uncertain _"tell him it's good to know he's making you happy, I think that's all, you can tell me more about him later, okay?"_

 _"Well, that'll be great for me._ " Dominique smiled with relief. _"I wondered if you were going to ask a lot of questions and interrogate us."_

 _"What? No, Dom, I'm not that boring and curious"_ Françoise was offended a little _"I trust your judgment to have chosen a good boyfriend, that I don't doubt, just be calm, okay?"_

 _"Okay, thanks for trusting me,"_ the older one said in response with a truly calmer heart, " _bye, Fran."_

 _"Bye, Dominique,"_ her sister said goodbye.

"Is it my impression, or did you get annoyed by your sister?" Roger got to the point suspiciously.

"No, I wasn't annoyed, is that she acted quite differently than I expected, I thought she would be suspicious of you" Dominique was also sincere.

"Suspicious? Why exactly?" He was even more curious.

"You know what sisters are like, I thought she wouldn't approve of you or question you." She grew more relaxed.

"I think I understand what I meant," Roger mused. "Clare was very judgmental of my old girlfriends."

"What do you think she'll think of me? When will we meet eventually?" Dominique urged.

"She will love you, because I have good taste!" Roger joked, but also letting his ego show.

"What?" Dominique was offended "did you just choose me to be your girlfriend? No feeling involved?

"Of course there was a feeling involved" Roger's confident facet was gradually crumbling "I asked to date you because I love you, and you know it's true Dom, but it was because of love that I chose you."

"But I wouldn't be your girlfriend if I hadn't accepted when yyou asked," she made it clear.

"But that's what I'm saying, I love you, and you love me too, you chose me too, for clear reasons" he ended up curling up, trying to win the question.

"Clear reasons? I'm afraid to know what you meant by that.” Dominique frowned.

"Honestly Dominique, I can't understand why I pissed you off." Roger really started to lose his temper.

"That's because you don't want to stop to think about how I interpreted what you said," she countered.

"But how do I know what you're thinking? I can't read your thoughts!" he let impatience appear, his voice angry.

"You know what? I'm leaving, think about what you did and then I'll talk to you.” She turned her back on him, but Roger rushed in front of her to stop her.

"Wait, where are you going? I can't eat a whole pizza alone!" He tried a lame, clumsy excuse.

"Oh don't worry, I'm sure you can," that comment outraged Dominique even more, since he didn't even make an effort to apologize, she hastened her steps and left Roger alone.

He knew better not to go after her or try to fix his damage, he knew his girlfriend well enough to know that none of this would do any good at the moment, Dominique was angry, and talking to her would only make her more irritable. Roger didn't want to give in, in his conscience he'd done nothing wrong. Apparently, he would have to dine alone that night, and eventually settled for it.


	19. Apology

Roger paid the delivery man with such a scowl and such a palpable bad mood, even though they had barely exchanged more than the necessary words, that Taylor ended up scaring the poor pizzeria employee. Despite the anger, the smell eventually caught the attention of his empty, growling stomach. And still annoyed, Roger chewed the slices in anger.

Before he could formulate a specific thought, he focused more on eating than thinking. He was more annoyed with the situation itself than angry with Dominique. Deep down, he was trying to compliment her, to say that she was so perfect and wonderful and it was those qualities that had caught his attention, he had chosen her because she was an amazing woman, so that was why it was hard to understand why she had been offended.

Thinking of Dominique, Roger automatically missed his girlfriend's presence, how he wanted her to be there, that they could talk and enjoy each other's company, he didn't want her to get out in anger. For now, he would be there, chewing in anger, giving her time, waiting for her to calm down to talk.

Despite their disagreement, Dominique was feeling the same as her boyfriend, angry, and certainly angry with him. Throughout the subway journey home, she'd come to think of how he was an egocentric fool who hadn't realized she was a human being and not a new piece of decoration to put in the living room. That was how she had been feeling when he said he was happy to choose her, and what was most outrageous to Dom was that Roger not even striving to understand what had offended her, as if he were so stupid or blind. That was the problem, Dominique would have known by now that Roger was self-centered, cocky, arrogant, but ... not only that.

When she got home, she took a long breath. All the good things her boyfriend's company and love had provided her so far made Dominique give him another chance. She would wait to see what he was going to do, not bother to chase after him, or look for him, at least not today. She was too tired to restart a discussion if it happens again. All that was left was just sleep and rest, after all she had to work the next day.

Slowly Roger's mind drifted from the reason for Dominique's anger until he thought of the last thing she had said, thought of what he had done and only then sought her out. Roger was well aware that he had been a little cocky and exaggerated saying he had good taste and maybe, that was what had hurt her, that he was a complete jerk, not unlike the idiot who had chased her in Hyde Park months ago, who was him too. His conscience weighed almost literally, he wanted to run and apologize right now, since one of the things he had promised himself since dating Dominique was that he would be a different man, a better man. Maybe he was joking and bragging at the same time, thinking his girlfriend would consider it all a joke, but that's not how Dominique reacted, Roger knew it was his obligation as a good boyfriend to understand her. Frustrated and upset with his stupid attitude, he drifted off to sleep, determined to settle it as soon as possible the next day.

Dominique went to work still upset about the fight, but hoping Roger would come to apologize. Professional as ever, she let nothing take her focus, but it was impossible to focus on what she was doing seeing Roger so bleak and desperate in front of her.

"You want to scare me?!" she asked in a mixture of still existing hurt and sheer fright.

"No, no, Dom." Roger sounded bleak and urgent. "I need to talk to you, please."

She thought for a moment, glad the reception was empty, she couldn't let her boyfriend be in that state in front of people. His plaid shirt was all wrinkled, his hair was tousled like a rat's nest, those features plus his slight frame reminded her of a scarecrow. Dominique would even laugh if poor Roger wasn't so desperate and loose. She got up and went to him, worried.

"Come with me," she said softly, also urgently, touching his arm, pulling him lightly.

Roger followed her in astonishment, to a place he hadn't noticed the other times he'd been in Branson's office. It was a cramped little room, full of shelves and cabinets, in turn crammed with boxes, filled with files and other office supplies.

"What happened to you? Looks like you just got out of the woods or something ... ” was the first thing Dominique could say in the face of astonishment.

"It's because of my hurry" he shrugged, not so worried about the problems she had pointed out "I'm sorry for offending you, I thought a lot and understood that I was stuck, sounded like the cheap womanizer I was there a time ago."

"Not only that." Dominique was surprised by his recognition, but she had more to say.

"If I hurt you more, or in other way, tell me," he asked humbly, "sometimes I need help to see that I was wrong."

"And how you really need" she ended up smiling, touching his face "when you said that you chose me, it's like you choose me just because I'm just another pretty girl, not because of who I am inside, understand?"

"But I ..." Roger tried, but she stopped him, touching his lips lightly.

"I know, I know it wasn't your intention." Dominique closed her eyes, nodding. "I know you, Roger Meddows Taylor. I know you love me for everything I am, and that's why I didn't expect you to speak that way, and I also got disturbed, I admit, I was nervous about the call, the possibility of meeting Clare, and well ... I got mad."

"Not without reason," Roger added. "I understand your reasons because you told them to me, I'm sorry for offending you, for not thinking about how you would react, I promise to act better from now on, that's all I want to do since I met you." 

"I know" she looked deeply into her boyfriend's eyes, there was no denying in his sincerity "I recognize your effort, you're a great boyfriend, so I think you're forgiven."

"Can't you be sure of that, please?" he tried to joke with a pitying face.

"Okay, I'm sure you're forgiven," she emphasized the words, but being true.

So that he had no more doubts, she kissed him. Roger wanted to do this first, but found it even better and more rewarding to receive his girlfriend's affection.

"Now you really have to go, I need to work," she warned as she hugged him. "See you later, my scarecrow."

"Scarecrow?" Roger looked at her and laughed.

"Yes" Dominique laughed too "did you look in the mirror before coming here?"

"Not really," Roger confessed, "but I understand, my love, I'll meet you later then. I love you, Dom."

"I love you too, Rog," she replied, kissing him quickly again. "Bye."

He smiled and was gone, and even with him leaving, getting away from her, Dominique knew it would be all right now.


	20. Double Date

Dominique could barely contain her anxiety, even if this wasn't the first time she had gone out with Roger, but she was still happy and lucky to be able to go out with him again, especially now that they had just made up.

If they said she would actually fall in love with Queen's annoying drummer, she would have laughed. But she did meet Roger for real, his heart behind his pretty face was what really won her over. It was no mystery where they would go, and no other company they would have tonight.

The idea came from Brian and Roger, May suggested that it would be nice for the two to go out together with their respective loved ones, on a double date, they agreed, they just had to ask Chrissie and Dominique if they were up. Soon they both agreed with the idea, as they had gotten right on the spot as soon as they met, and had also become friends quickly. They would meet at a traveling fun fair, which was mounted near the London Eye ferris wheel.

Dominique got up quickly when she heard the doorbell, it could only be Roger, which made her run faster to the door.

"Hi, Rog," she said, feeling even happier to see him.

"Hi, my love." Roger kissed her cheek.

Without another word, they walked out of the building holding hands. Roger only released Dom's hand to open the car door for her, a habit he didn't have, but created only because of Miss. Beyrand, the owner of hisheart. Dominique laughed softly at the gesture, but it was more because she thought it was cute than silly. Shortly after they hit the road, she broke the silence.

"Will Chris and Brian meet us there?" demanded Dom.

"Yeah" her boyfriend confirmed, nodding "they surely are already there, you know how punctual Brian is, I just hope he doesn't think it's bad if we get a little late."

"No, he won't, we can justify it was traffic fault," Dominique thought of a solution. "And besides, Chrissie can calm him down."

"Even so, when it comes to me, these two treat me like a child," Roger said a little irritably.

"But isn't it just because you give reason for it, honey?" Dom inclined her head suggestively. "I know how childlike you can be..."

 "Okay, you got me," he surrendered, shrugging, "I better hurry to avoid the scolding."

"Um, just be careful," his girlfriend replied, and a while later they reached their final destination.

Roger and Dominique walked until they found Brian and Chrissie waiting. To their surprise, the guitarist didn't look the least bit annoyed, just very focused and with a happy face as he listened to every word his wife said.

"Bri," Chrissie broke off, "they arrived."

"Hi guys "Brian greeted Roger and Dominique "so where do we go first?"

"I think we better get separated, you know, we sure want to go on different attractions, but then we can meet to eat something, what do you think?" Dominique suggested.

"Yeah, good idea, but what time or so?" Brian wanted a more exact answer.

"How about when the belly snores, smarty pants? "Roger crossed his arms playfully "relax, Bri, have some fun ..."

Brian just rolled his eyes at that statement, which made the girls laugh.

"Let's get going before you two continue this silly argument." Chrissie wrapped an arm around her husband, forcing him to accompany her.

Not that it was an obligation, finally, Brian gave her reason. And Dominique was right, too, as the two couples went for very different attractions.

Brian and Chrissie spent a lot of time on the carousel, as much as it whirled on and on, they found it funny, having fun as children. Roger and Dominique went straight to the bumper, which was their thing, something more full of adrenaline and energy. Roger was hit by his girlfriend several times, if it was another girl he would be annoyed by that, but not with his Dom, who was as good a pilot as he was, even a little more.

After leaving the carousel, Brian decided to try target shooting, just to get a stuffed animal for his wife. As much as he was a trained physicist and well understood the laws of gravity and other factors, none of this worked in his favor when he missed the target every time he tried.

"No problem, Bri," Chrissie acknowledged her husband's efforts, "I won't be upset if I don't get any gift."

"I just wish you had something to remember today." Brian shrugged a little sulkily.

"But I'll remember, I have an excellent memory, especially when it comes to you." Chrissie smiled proudly.

"Really?" His cheeks flushed at that statement.

"Sure," Chrissie nodded, touching his face. "Since I first saw you playing in college until today."

"Good, because I remember everything too." Brian felt more relaxed answering, kissing Chrissie on the cheek.

"Where are we going now?" she wanted to know when Brian pulled her by the hand.

"Don't tell Roger, but my belly is growling," he said and laughed.

"Oh, I'm hungry too," Chrissie understood. "So what will it be?"

"Chesse on the stick, how about that?" suggested Brian.

"That's fine with me," said Mrs. May and soon they went to the diner.

After they had settled down to eat, it wasn't long before Roger and Dominique showed up, they were probably hungry, too.

"So your stomach growled first, Bri?" Roger said when he saw them.

"But yours too, by the way, no?" Brian said, with a superior air "see? It's proof that we are human beings, we all feel hungry."

"Brian, that's a very silly argument," Chrissie said kindly, touching her husband's arm.

"I agree, Mr. Roger Meddows Taylor, what do you think about stopping there?" Dominique glowered at her boyfriend, who gave only a dull smile and went to order his meal.

A while later, the four of them were eating together.

"Have you been to all the attractions?" Chrissie changed the subject.

"Not yet, we're saving the London Eye for the end," Dominique said. "And you?"

"We were in the ones who liked to go and avoided the ones we didn't like that much," Brian summed up the tour. "We don't even remember the London Eye."

"Brian, it's a big ferris wheel, like I said, big!" Roger emphasized with exaggerated gestures "how did you not remember?"

"You meant if we saw it, didn't you?" It was Chrissie's turn to be superior to him. "Because of the size it really is impossible not to see, but honestly, I don't know if I have the courage to go there."

"Are you afraid of heights, Chrissie?" Dominique asked, more concerned than curious.

"I confess yes," Mrs. May felt a little embarrassed.

"So, Chrissie, how about facing this fear today, huh?" Roger crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows at her "I dare you to go to the London Eye with us."

"Oh no, Roger, don't do that!" Chrissie said angry " I just said I'm afraid of heights!"

"But it's totally safe, the ferris wheel goes very slowly, and it's going to be very romantic, for you and us, very close to the moonlight and the stars," Roger said, full of flourishes.

"If you don't want to go, Chrissie, that's fine," Brian understood his wife.

"Oh no Bri, after so much annoying, I think I'll face the challenge just to see if Rog leaves me alone" Mrs. May scowled at Taylor.

Her attitude left Dominique and Brian slightly dazed.

"Agreed then, come on Dom, let's take a ride on the London Eye," Roger invited his girlfriend, speaking in an annoying way.

 Again, Brian and Dominique didn't know what to do, but if they said something they would cause more fights between their respective loved ones. Chrissie was a very difficult person to piss off, but her behavior was understandable, Roger could drive anyone out of their mind. Deep down, Brian wanted to go too just to prove to Roger how much he had messed with the wrong girl, but more importantly, he wanted to be on his wife's side to help her face the challenge. Dominique just agreed to go so Roger wouldn't do anything stupid, considering that tormenting their friend was silly and unfair.

They got in line and waited for their turn. Brian noticed Chrissie's nervousness and worried about his wife's condition.

"Don't worry," he told her softly, so only she could hear, "I'll be by your side and holding your hand all the time."

For a moment they thought they were free of Roger's mockery, but it wasn't long before they heard the unmistakable voice of the drummer singing.

 _"Oh well I'll tell you something, I hope you understand, when I say that something, I wanna hold your hand, I wanna hold your hand ..."_  Roger kept singing out of nowhere, like a freak, in front of everyone.

"Lucky for you I love this song." Chrissie turned back, glaring at him.

 _"I wanna hold your hand, I wanna hold your hand"_ Brian ended up on impulse, singing softly, after all the song was contagious.

As much as she didn't want to admit it, the music had calmed Chrissie's nerves a little. Finally it was their turn, and Brian, who was still holding his wife's hand, felt her tremble.

 "It'll be all right," he assured her again.

"I know, it's just that ..." She sat in the cabin seat "oh my God, what happened to me to accept this challenge?"

"To try to silence Roger's ego?" Bri tried.

Chrissie just shook her head, sighing deeply, feeling the cabin lift, and the wheel starting to spin.

"My dear Lord, please, don't let us fall from here, God, so much good has happened to me, I don't want to miss any of this, don't let us fall from here," she murmured in a prayer of lament.

Brian was startled by the supplication, but ended up saying a resounding "Amen" when she finished. He squeezed her hand a little, gently, hard enough to remind her that he was there, but not hurting her. Chrissie smiled, realizing her husband's intention with that gesture.

"Thanks," she said softly.

Brian smiled in response, letting go of his wife's hand only to put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. So Chrissie relaxed, being able to observe the sky, it was really as beautiful and romantic as Roger said.

 _"Oh please say to me, I think you'll understand, when I say that something, you'll let me hold your hand"_  Brian's soft voice was the only sound they heard _"I wanna hold your hand ..."_

His wife just laughed softly, grateful for all he had done to make her feel better. In the meantime, Roger and Dominique were in another cabin and finally she decided to say what she thought of his insistence.

"Roger, I thought you piss off Chrissie so much that she was going to beat you up," Dom said.

"Oh no, Chrissie would never move a finger against me," Roger shrugged, but then he was slightly amazed. "In fact, it was just a joke and I never thought she would take it seriously."

"But she did," Dominique insisted, "and that says a lot about Chrissie, how brave she is ..."

"She is, she just has a hard time admitting it," Roger agreed.

"I just hope you apologize to her after we get down," his girlfriend recommended, almost bordering on a scolding.

"I will, I know I exaggerated," he admitted.

A while later, the four met, and Roger was surprised that Chrissie's anger had passed.

"Aren't you mad at me anymore?" he asked hia friend.

"Yeah, I'm still mad, just a little bit," she explained. "Now I'll just think of a challenge worthy of you."

"I approve and help you think of something." Dominique nodded to Mrs. May.

"Oh no Domi, don't go against me, no!" begged Roger.

"What can they do? It was you who started it" Brian gave his opinion.

"There was only you to get against me too, right, Bri?" replied Roger indignantly.

"I'm just on my wife's side," May replied, making an innocent face.

"Let's forget it" Chrissie decided for them "how about we go after a dessert now?"

"Great!" Roger sighed with relief.

Minutes later, he and Dominique ate popcorn together while the Mays shared cotton candy, already heading for the park exit. Despite the scares and jokes, it had been a landmark night among four good friends.


	21. Goodbyes

Dominique sighed suddenly, sitting at the kitchen table of her boyfriend's apartment. She had finished the morning meal and was already satisfied, but Roger in front of her still had a voracious appetite, devouring what was his seventh or eighth roll.

"Is everything okay, Dom?" He turned to her after swallowing a loaf of bread, wiping the corner of his mouth. "I thought you liked the idea of having breakfast together before I went."

"Yes, yes, I did," Dominique straightened, removing her hand from under her chin. "It's just that I'm already thinking I'll miss you, and I hope you miss me too."

"Of course I'll miss you" he touched her face "we see each other every day and it won't be the same for me without being able to see you."

"For me too," she breathed another time, "why even though you have to go to Wales when there are so many studios right here?"

"Ah, the record company wants us to focus and do our best to make the most inspired work we can," Roger explained with comic exaggeration. "That's what Freddie promised, and we have to work hard to live up to that great promise."

"I know you wll, I know how creative you four are, and to tell you the truth," she inclined her head. "I'm starting to get anxious about this new album."

"Well, it will still take you long to satisfy all this curiosity" Roger shrugged "but I promise to do my best to get the album ready soon."

"Don't worry honey, I know how long these things take time." Dominique made a relaxed gesture with her hand.

"Thanks for understanding." Roger smiled at her, finishing his meal, checking the clock and starting to hurry.

"You already have to go, don't you?" she sounded sad.

"I'm sorry, Dominique," he touched her face again, "but I promise I'll call you from there as soon as I can."

"I know you will, you'll regret if you don't call!" she faked a scolding.

"Yes, ma'am." Roger was happy to agree.

She watched him pick up his luggage, locking the apartment and going down the elevator. In all this she accompanied him, enjoying the moments they had before the trip. Looking out into the street, waiting for Paul Prenter to arrive, Dominique watched her boyfriend a little more, he wore sunglasses as usual, and in her opinion the fur coat was a little crooked. She was already adjusting when she restrained herself, knowing her boyfriend well, thought of another reason for the disarray.

"Is the crooked coat pure style?" Dominique asked playfully.

"Kind of, thanks for noticing." He gave that sideways smile.

"Roger Meddows Taylor ..." she murmured with a smile on her lips, already expecting an answer like that.

Dominique laughed, they exchanged a smile, and then, without hesitation, she bent to kiss him, holding Roger's face in both hands, hoping that that big kiss would help her deal with the longing.

The car driven by Paul Prenter interrupted them. They both understood that they would have no more time to say goodbye, they sighed and laughed simultaneously.

"Have a good trip." Dominique took a step forward, understanding that it was best to face up to the fact that he was about to leave "I love you."

"I love you too." Roger sighed and took the moment to kiss her again.

It was a shorter kiss, despite his crazy way, Roger knew his responsibilities and should not be tangling. He smiled at her and only then took his seat in the car, only John and Paul were there. She waved as the vehicle moved away.

So, resigned to her boyfriend temporarily away, she walked back into her building. Along the way, John and Roger began talking about their expectations of the new work that was about to begin when Paul decided to speculate on something he was thinking.

"So ..." Prenter said a little louder, intending to draw attention "you and Branson's assistant, Rog, is something serious, or you're just playing the girl?"

Taylor's eyes narrowed dangerously at that.

"Look Paul, I can assure you that our relationship is serious, very serious" Roger ended up answering in a relaxed voice "is that all, or do you have any other inconvenient questions?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you," Paul feigned surprise. "It's that she must have been running at your feet and insisting so hard to have gotten such a chance with you."

John laughed softly in response and touched Roger's arm before he could do anything else.

"Let him, Rog, it's more fun when he doesn't know what really happened," Deacon advised his friend in a low voice.

Taylor smiled, agreeing with Deaky and leaving Paul with his own conclusions. Finally, Brian and Freddie joined them and, after a long trip, they finally stopped. The strangeness was widespread on the part of the four band members, it was at least a very unusual place to record an album.

"Recording studio?" echoed Roger's doubt for all his companions to hear.

Paul made that excuse that they were there to escape the distractions, but that alone wasn't enough argument. The four of them knew that what was coming ahead would be a challenge, but since they were already there, the way was to get used to the idea and give themselves to work.

It wasn't long before Roger and his friends settled into their respective rooms. John was resting while Freddie and Brian, as usual perfectionists, put their ideas into practice. Without feeling lazy and following their example, he began to sketch the beginning of a song, an idea that had been hovering in his mind for a while, an idea he had even kept from Dominique, waiting for the right moment to show her and everyone.

As Roger finished writing the lyrics, Brian appeared in his bedroom door.

"Hi Rog," he said, careful not to disturb him. "I made dinner, are you hungry, or would you rather eat later?"

"Are you kidding? I was waiting to see who would volunteer to cook" Taylor got up happily.

"Well, I know it was going to end up for me and I did the job right away," Brian justified, relaxed.

The boys ate together the soup the guitarist had made and only then did John bring up something he was thinking.

"Guys, do you think the phone is working?" Deacon raised the question "I wanted to call Veronica ..."

"Yeah, I know how you're feeling, my friend," Freddie agreed with his friend, also missing Mary.

"Technically, we're not working right now, so it wouldn't be distracting a little call ..." Roger hypothesized.

It took a significant exchange of eyes from the four of them to make them understand that they wanted the same thing, talk to their wives and girlfriends. The four Queen members rushed out and Roger was the winner of that sudden dispute. His friends didn't complain so much, but just waited for his place in the line that formed.

The phone called and called in Dominique's apartment, causing her to get up when she was almost asleep.

"Hello?" she said in a yawn.

"Dom, it's me, I woke you up, didn't I? I'm sorry,” Roger said briskly. “I just wanted to talk to you."

"Okay, my love, I understand you" she replied "how is everything there?"

"Well, everything is all right, the only problem so far is that I think we're at the end of the world," he said, somewhat indignantly.

"In the end of the world?" Dominique laughed. "You're being too dramatic again!"

"Well, we're on a farm away from civilization," he added. "Our only company is cows and chickens."

"But the boys are there, aren't they?" Dominique pointed out. "That's good enough, you're best friends."

"Yeah, that's true" Roger smiled at that "well, I wanted to say that I miss you and that I will find you as soon as possible, just don't know when."

"Fine, Roger, I believe you," Dominique said sweetly, "and don't worry, I'll be waiting for you."

"Thanks, I love you, good night." He said goodbye.

"I love you, bye," Dominique answered and waited for him to hang up.

Roger passed the phone to John, still thinking about his girlfriend. Dominique, in turn, eventually remembered their farewell. Thinking about each other, even at a distance, did not let them forget the love that united them.


	22. Keeping in touch

The sun was rising once again in the United Kingdom, indicating the beginning of a new day, whether in London or Wales. For Dominique, it was a rest day after another tiring week of work, but for Roger and his companions, it was another day of work. Despite missing his girlfriend, the drummer was enthusiastic that day, willing to finish the song he had begun to compose. He was putting the finishing touches on the lyrics, thinking he would record a preview after breakfast.

Once well fed, the boys worked on other songs in the studio, Brian's almost-ready songs, some of Freddie's, and they convinced John to record "You're My Best Friend," as much as he was a little embarrassed, since he had dedicated the song to Veronica. In the end, the bassist saw that he should follow the advice of his friends and after all was done, he was very pleased with the result.

Freddie eventually asked for time and space for himself, as his next composition would require these details to make it perfect. His friends didn't question that demand very much, they already knew how Freddie's brilliant mind worked, they just let him work alone.

Meanwhile, hunger drove the boys to get their lunch. Roger was so excited he even risked frying some eggs, supervised by John and Brian. The subject that came up during the meal was the latest ideas for new songs.

Brian was already thinking of another song for the album, and Roger finally told him what his song was about for "A Night at the Opera." John and Brian soon made their critical comments, after all, Roger agreeing or not, a song about someone in love with a car was very strange.

The drummer couldn't help but criticize the band's new guitarist's song, finding it pointless to compare the sweetness of his beloved with a piece of cheese. To some extent, it was cute as Brian called his wife Chrissie a sweet lady, but that comparison had gone too far. It didn't take long for the two to fall out, but Roger insisted on the song and eventually convinced his friends to record it.

Dominique didn't know any of this yet, busy with work, but she was glad to receive a call from Roger.

"I'm busy and tired, as always, but we are working with a new band, I hope they go far, they have talent" she said during the call.

"Don't work so hard, my love," Roger said worriedly. "I promise that when I get back we'll go out a little."

"Thank you for the offer and I'll take care of myself" she replied - "take care of yourself and good work, I love you."

"I love you, Dom, good night." Roger said goodbye and hung up.

One interesting thing that helped Dominique rest from work was a special invitation from Chrissie, after all, it wasn't just she who was missing her boyfriend. That's how the Queen Girls, as they called themselves, met at the Mays' house, talking about a lot of things, including how Dominique agreed to date Roger.

The girls' curiosity startled and amused her at the same time, and she told the whole story, without forgetting any detail, remembering everything from the heart, as Roger called her out and opened his heart to her, in a way she didn't could deny her love for him too.

The narrative entertained Veronica, Mary and Chrissie, who found the whole story cute. So the days went by, the girls busy with work and the boys too, keeping in touch by constant calls. They met again, enjoying each other's friendship and company while their loved ones were away.

After a busy day in Rockfield, Brian decided to call Chrissie after dinner, checking on how his wife was, but luckily for his friends, his girlfriends and wife were also present.

Brian and Chrissie talked about him, Freddie, John, Roger and how the recording process was going, until the guitarist mentioned Roger and started laughing nonstop. The drummer was seeing it all and took offense at his friend having fun at him.

"Is Dominique there?" Brian asked his wife "call her, she needs ..."

Unbeknownst to Bri, Roger rushed toward him, yanking the phone out of his hand in anger.

"Don't do that, Chrissie!" Roger recommended, hoping his friend would understand. "I won't let Brian make fun of me to my girlfriend."

"Okay, then tell me what's going on because Brian won't make it, by the way," Chrissie asked him.

"I wrote a song about a car, but it's a metaphor, they don't understand that it's not to be taken literally" Roger explained what was such a laugh.

"Okay, but what's the name of the song?" Chrissie wanted to know.

"I'm in love with my car," Roger said proudly.

The drummer only heard Mrs. May laugh in response, which made him even more outraged.

"I can't believe you're doing this to me, Chrissie." Roger let out his anger. "You're really a May, you don't understand any metaphor like the giant poodle here."

"Hey!" It was Brian's turn to take offense and protest.

All that mess eventually caused the girls' curiosity, and Chrissie explained what was going on. Dominique wasn't surprised that they were surprised by the idea of Roger's song, she should already imagine what was coming. Not that Roger was a bad composer, he had excellent creative ideas, but sometimes he could come up with some unusual ideas and his girlfriend thought that was the case. After all, she had the opportunity to talk to her boyfriend, unraveling the mystery about the confusion and dealing with the longing.

"Hi Roger, it's me," she said as she answered. "How are you doing?"

"Very annoyed to have been the subject of jokes from all over the world," he was quite frank. "It's not my fault anyone can understand a metaphor".

"Did you use a metaphor to compose? How interesting!" Dominique's compliment was sincere, "and what metaphor did you use?"

"Look, I just described a person in love with someone, other person, but literally talking about a car," Roger explained, returning to his old excitement.

"A car?" Dominique scowled. "What do you mean a car?"

"The person in the song says he's in love with a car, but he's referring to a girl," he insisted on the explanation.

"I understand what you meant," she tried to be sympathetic, "but why use the metaphor of a car?"

"I thought it would be unusual and creative," Roger replied following his own logic.

"Good, my love, it seems that really your work there has been ... productive" she decided to wrap up the subject about music "it was nice talking to you, Rog, good night, I love you so much."

"I love you so much, Dom, see you later, love." He smiled at that, even a little sad that he was still far from her.

When Dominique returned the phone, she allowed herself to laugh. Really her boyfriend could be pretty crazy and stubborn when he wanted to be, but she loved him anyway.


	23. Acting in a different way

Nothing would make Roger give up his goal, and even if he had to stay there all day, no one would convince him to leave unless his friends accepted his conditions. What the drummer called determination his bandmates called stubbornness and childishness.

The whole mess started when Roger insisted that "I'm in love with my car" should be the "B" side of "Bohemian Rhapsody" when they released the album. With Freddie, Brian and John firmly refusing, Roger did what he could to get what he wanted, locking himself in a cupboard until his friends agreed with him. Out of tiredness, the rest of the band eventually gave Roger what he wanted, and only then did he end his self-confinement.

All that commotion only made Freddie and John laugh a little, realizing how pedantic their friend Taylor could be, but Brian, worried as usual, not that John and Freddie didn't care, nut he made further analysis of his best friend's behavior.

That night at Rockfield Farm, Brian made dinner as usual and after everyone was happy, it was the guitarist's turn to take time out for himself. He walked a little further in front of the studios, being careful not to get too far to get lost, as the farther he went, the darker it became. He took a deep breath in that immensity, looking up, pleased as he always felt to watch a starry night sky, just as the sky was that night.

"Hey, Bri, what are you doing here?" Roger interrupted the guitarist's loneliness.

"Nothing, I came for a walk." Brian smiled a little shyly, shrugging, "and what are you doing here?"

"The same as you," Roger replied with a joke.

"Oh, I'm glad you're getting some air, especially after you've been stuck in a cupboard for hours." Brian didn't miss the opportunity to criticize.

"You will never forget about that, right?" Taylor put a hand to his forehead as he sighed in frustration.

"It's kind of hard to forget," May agreed, "but seriously, Rog, you needn't have done that."

"Are you sure?" Roger challenged "you and Freddie always get what you want within the band and if we don't take a drastic attitude you don't get what you want."

"Not quite" Brian tried to defend himself "you know very well that I always end up giving in to Freddie's wishes and that the four of us have different opinions from each other, ok, maybe it was a situation that you had to act drastically, but you know, not everything is your way and not everything is solved our way."

"Thanks for the moral lesson, Dad, can I go now?" Taylor mocked impatiently.

"Okay, I'm not your father," Brian allowed himself to laugh a little, "but maybe you could talk to him about being hasty and short tempered."

"No, Bri " now Roger took the conversation a little more seriously "I'd rather talk these things to you than my dad, I got these things from him, and I didn't really want to be that much, because that's it which made my parents split up and I don't want Dom and I to split up for the same reason."

"No, Roger, this is not going to happen" Brian approached, touching his friend's shoulder "you are different from your father, you are loving, caring and really love Dominique, in a way I never saw, you will not be like that with her."

"Thanks," Roger muttered as his mind pondered a lot of things, a dangerous, unusual, unimaginable idea, but one he was beginning to like crossed his mind. "Brian?"

"Yeah, Rog." His friend was willing to listen to him a little longer.

"How did you realize you wanted to be with Chrissie?" he asked, wanting to answer some questions but not exposing exactly what he wanted.

"Well, I think your heart tells you, as cheesy as it may sound, it's true," Brian smiled as he answered. "Do you know when you dream a lifetime and suddenly find the right person and the more you know her, the more you're sure you want to spend the rest of your life with her, that's what I felt."

"That sounds so you," Roger finally mocked, but just not to surrender that was exactly how he felt about Dominique.

"It was you who asked, shorty" Brian rolled his eyes.

"So it's all my fault, giant poodle," Roger pretended to whine and laughed, this time Brian laughed with him.

Unbeknownst to both of them, their girlfriends were also in the same place, but talking about other matters.

After thinking long and grateful for the new friends she had made, Dominique decided to call Veronica, Mary, and Chrissie to her apartment, keeping their meetings constant. As much as the host was willing to make dinner alone, Chrissie offered to help and knowing her culinary talents, Dom didn't refuse her help.

"So now it's a little while before the baby is born." Dominique tugged on after dinner, sitting next to Veronica, who was really in her late stages of pregnancy.

"Yeah, and I confess I'm getting anxious," Mrs. Deacon replied "I wonder how much things will change with a baby at home, what John and I are going to do to take care of him, I know at first it will be difficult, as much as I'm used to taking care of children, but taking care of of babies is something completely new and different."

"Calm down, Ronnie, we know it's a lot to deal with, but getting desperate is no use either," Mary said patiently.

"Oh no, I'm not desperate" Ronnie ended laughing at herself "I know that in the end will be all right, difficulties are part of life, but having a baby brings more joy than difficulties, I'm sure of it."

"And we'll be here to help you, with whatever you need," Chrissie assured her with a comforting smile.

"I don't understand much about children like you, but I can help as much as I can," Dominique added comically, feeling the need to offer her support as well.

"Then we'll learn together, Dominique." The prospective mother was sympathetic to her.

Miss Beyrand smiled in response and all that conversation ended up messing with her. Dominique had struggled so hard to keep the stable and happy life she had achieved and was living that she sometimes forgot about the future, the dreams she could still achieve and live in the days to come. Her plan had always been to achieve those goals, but since she had met Roger and was with him, her outlook changed. Her boyfriend was becoming more and more essential every day of her life, in a way she couldn't imagine a future without him.

Dominique didn't know his plans, but all this talk about children and childcare made her put herself in Veronica's shoes, as it would be if Dom herself had children one day. Was that what she wanted? Not exactly, for a while, a long time ago, when she was a little girl, she'd dreamed of getting married in a wedding dress with a real prince charming. As she grew older, she learned there were no enchanted princes, but Roger, to her, came very close to that. And really, he was awakening this old dream of hers. What Dominique also began to wonder was if Roger wanted this too, that night she was sure that on her part she really dreamed of building a family beside him. For now, all she had to do was be a good friend to Veronica, but surely she would plan more for the future in the days to come.


	24. Release

Dominique was extremely excited as she got ready. A few minutes ago, Roger had called, warning that he had arrived from Wales and wanted to see her immediately. It was what Dominique wanted too, so she hurried to her boyfriend's apartment.

Arriving there, Roger received her with a kiss so passionate that surprised his girlfriend. She understood that all this was longing and his exaggeration was comprehensive, after all, they were away from each other for almost two months.

"That was ... Wow!" Dominique said, taking a breath " I was really rewarded for the time we were apart, but I also want to know the trip, how were the recordings?"

"Oh you know, Dom" Roger shrugged, relaxed "there was a little fight here and there, but in the end we solved everything, and look, modesty aside, I think this is our best work."

"Really? I really want to hear it,” she replied excitedly.

"Oh, don't worry, we had an idea to show you some songs from the album" he said "Brian will talk to Chrissie to have dinner together and enjoy listening."

"But you only have a few songs? I wanted to hear them all!" Dominique charged, but jokingly.

"Wait, it will be worth it" he guaranteed "I promise that as soon as the album comes out I'll give you one as a gift, and still signed by the drummer!"

"Cut it out, Rog!" she laughed. "Now I say don't worry, I'm anxious, but I can wait. It's just that ... All this anticipation and this thing of you having to isolate yourself to conceive a masterpiece really arouses the curiosity of anyone."

"That's right," Roger eventually agreed with her.

After a few days, Chrissie talked to her friends to decide what would be the best day to get together for a new meeting with everyone. Chosen the date, the Deacons, Mary and Freddie and Roger and Dominique were at the Mays' house again, the girls were eager to hear the new compositions from their loved ones.

The first song they listened to was '39 by Brian, which was about time travel and the separation of two people who loved each other, the song reflected well on the guitarist and his melancholy and space thoughts. It was then that "I'm in love with my car" started playing.

Dominique's reaction was to make a discreet face, which she tried to hide from her expectant boyfriend. Leaving aside the opinion that a car song was stupid and using her appreciation for music, she began to analyze the song.

It started with a beautiful guitar solo and the drumming was very different, that got Dominique's attention. But then Roger's voice began to sing, ruining everything. Not that he was a terrible singer, he was far from it, the problem itself was the lyrics of the song itself. Really the metaphors were totally weird when comparing a car to a person. Dominique knew her boyfriend wasn't in love with a car, but anyone who listened would believe it. That's why she couldn't help herself, looking at Roger completely confused, questioning why this freaking song existed.

Taylor, meanwhile, was still hopeful and proud, hoping that his girlfriend would understand his most inspirational song. When the song ended, she sighed deeply, wondering how to approach her direct question without offending him.

"My love, explain something to me," she told Roger, demonstrating that she was willing to understand her motives. "What exactly did you mean by this song?"

"Well, I ..." Roger was suspicious before answering completely "is about someone in love with a car, but also serves someone in love with a girl, is a metaphor, you know?"

"But there is a passage that says "tell my girl I have to forget her" pointed out Dominique "that would be a kind of cheating, don't you think? If the car represents a girl. But if it's really a literal car, sorry, but it's weird to fall in love with a car like you'd fall in love with a person."

Her boyfriend was confused and slightly annoyed by her explanation.

"Dom, the song is good, okay? Why don't you admit it soon?" he was getting annoyed "or if you didn't like it, speak up!"

"Hey, I liked the arrangements, the pace you set" Dom was sincere, approaching him, touching her boyfriend's face, but worried about him "just answer me if you had to choose between me and the car of this song who would you stay with?"

She said aloud what she was considering, not that she was suspicious of her boyfriend, but wanting to make him realize and admit that the lyrics were bad and weird. Roger was confused by the question, as much as he loved cars, none of them compared to his Dominique, so he was doubtful in choosing what to answer.

"But of course it's you, Dom!" he said firmly at once, then kissed her for a long time.

"I told you to make a normal love song like everyone else," Brian finally said, seeing that Dominique's reaction confirmed the weirdness of "I'm in love with my car."

"Back off, Brian!" A pillow flew from Roger's hand toward his best friend, but couldn't hit him.

"But it's not a bad idea, my love ..." Dominique had to agree. "I can charge you later."

"I'll put it on my list, can it be?" Roger gave in to his girlfriend's whim.

"I'm kidding." She smiled and kissed his cheek shortly thereafter. "I know you love me more than the car."

If Dominique herself had said that, who had the property to say so, then everyone agreed that despite the fierce dispute, no person or car could take her place in Roger's heart.

Eventually, "A Night at the Opera" was released, and despite some conflicts with EMI, Queen managed to release "Bohemian Rhapsody", which made a tremendous success almost instantaneously. Dominique thought the song lived up to its nickname "Freddie's masterpiece," containing all the band's inventiveness, plus the ability to provoke various emotions in the listener.

For Dom, it was an amazing song, one that drew courage, as at the end of the song where the instruments and the voices came back full force in a rhythm of rock, as an imposition of self-will, it was something very bold.

And it wasn't just her or the Queen Girls who thought that, the general public had loved the song, ignoring the critics. As Queen's popularity grew more and more, Dominique could see that the number of fans behind her boyfriend had increased, the more people sought him for autographs, he attended more interviews. And though this wave of fame and success was a little scary, Dominique was proud of Roger, of all that he and his friends had achieved. In the midst of it all, they were still together, more united than ever.


	25. A Permanent Act

Throughout the release of Queen's new album, there was Dominique, alongside the new friends who were also accompanying the boys, watching the shows with excitement and dedication, and certainly, alongside Roger.

For him, her company was indispensable, not only in their moments of stardom, but especially when they were alone, living a more ordinary and peaceful life, being themselves.

With the release of a new album came a new tour that meant traveling and getting away from loved ones, and even accepting the fact that duty was calling him, Roger missed his girlfriend immensely.

That was when one night, while he was resting after a concert, the longing for Dominique hit hard and with that, came into his mind an idea that he had thought a while ago. Ever since he had met her, Roger couldn't imagine what his life would be like without Dom from now on, she had radically changed much of his way of living and behaving, opening his eyes to true love.

With no other girl, Roger even considered something as permanent as he was thinking now. There was a right way to make Dominique part of his life permanently, and without hesitation or fear, understanding that he should take this step, Roger decided to propose to her.

With all the excitement and determination, he went to a jewelry store to choose the perfect ring. He looked at everything the attendant had in his sight, until he glanced at the ring that made him think it was just so Dominique. It had a delicate, well-polished diamond on the silver rim, matching Miss. Beyrand.

"This one is perfect!" Roger declared satisfied, taking the ring home.

He already had the most important thing to order, but he still didn't know how to do it. It was inevitable to think about how his friends had proposed to their girlfriends. Freddie had hoped to have a moment alone with Mary, John asked Veronica as soon as he knew she was pregnant, and Brian had thought of something simple until everyone insisted on the epic post-show proposal, which he eventually agreed to do. Given so many options, Roger knew he had to do something different. Until he could think of anything, he kept the ring in the last drawer of his closet, hoping no one would find it.

So the days went by and Roger unintentionally realized that, as much as he thought, he had no brainstorming idea. That was how he came to believe that it would be best just to be sincere and honest, saying his intention wholeheartedly. Unable to wait any longer and understanding that the sooner he placed the proposal would be better, he decided to put his plan into practice.

The band had just been dismissed from a meeting when Roger felt the time was right and to have someone as his squire and confidant, he chose Chrissie May to assist him in his mission.

"Chris," he called her, a little nervously, "can I talk to you? It's kind of private, you know?"

She was a little worried about that rather sudden request, but was willing to listen to her friend.

"Go ahead Bri, then I'll meet you," Chrissie told her husband as he approached.

"See if you don't annoy her, okay Roger?" Brian joked and stayed a little away.

"What is it?" It was her turn to ask.

"Chrissie, I can't wait any longer, I have to do something, and it can't pass today!" he said with certainty, which startled her a little.

"I hope it's not something crazy huh!" She already wondered what her friend was up to.

"Um, I mean, if it was me six, seven years ago, I'd think I was crazy, but I thought, and thought so much, and that's it!" Roger said without blinking "It's her, and I have to do what every decent man does when this time comes."

"Boy, stop talking in code and explain to me at once what it is!" Chrissie asked, already somewhat desperate.

Roger took a deep breath, preparing to tell his plans, giving a huge smile of happiness. He was afraid someone would hear and then decided to whisper in his friend's ear.

"I'm going to propose to Dominique now and I'd like you to come with me," he said under his breath.

What he said aroused Chrissie's surprise and euphoria, who hugged him tightly, hardly believing the wonder she had heard.

"Chrissie, Chrissie, Chrissie!" Roger tried to undo the hug that had lasted longer than he expected "you can let me go now, okay?"

"I'm sorry, this is a real miracle!" She laughed, impressed "you really did it!"

"Saying like that you hurt me," he said, a little offended. "But you're right, Mom ... So, let's put the plan into action?"

"Only if it's now!" Chrissie nodded, following her friend until she was interrupted by her husband, who began to find the whole movement strange.

"I never thought I'd ask that, but what are you up to, Chrissie?" Brian asked his wife.

"Oh ... Roger asked for my help choosing a gift for Dominique" she tried to disguise "I'm going with him now, okay?"

"Okay." Brian was satisfied with that answer.

Without delay Chrissie went with Roger to his apartment. In a hurry, he scurried for the ring while his friend waited for him in the living room. Roger turned the last drawer, but it seemed the ring box had decided to go for a walk or hide, no matter how frantically he tossed his clothes out of the drawer, he couldn't find it. Placing his hand inside the drawer, he found the box in the gap between the top drawer. He sighed with relief as he put the box in his jacket pocket.

"I almost didn't find it" Roger commented when he returned to the room "how do I look?"

"In love," Chrissie said with a laugh, "I think this meeting suit is formal enough."

"So let's go, we've lost too much time," Roger continued in a hurry, and Chrissie ran too, trying to keep up.

As much as he was in a hurry, when he reached the door of the building where his girlfriend worked, he hesitated, clearly very nervous. Chrissie was moved by his condition and approached her friend.

"You can do it," she stated in a motherly way.

"Yes, let's do it!" rubbing his hands, he resumed his determination.

It was a little shocking and disappointing to see that Dominique wasn't there at the front desk, where he expected to meet her.

"Let's wait a minute, she must be busy," Chrissie deduced and advised.

"There's no chance she left now, right? Because she barely leaves here at work ...” Roger began to give in to despair. “I'm going after her."

"No, Roger, she's working, if you do like that, maybe it'll disturb her, just have the patience to wait for her to appear, okay?" Mrs. May insisted gently.

There wasn't much left for Taylor besides doing what his friend asked, he took a deep breath and checked the box in his pocket once again. Still stunned, he felt the rush of adrenaline rise again as Dominique came around, completely focused, reading some important document in her hand, she hadn't seen them. As she went to talk to some people waiting at the front desk, she noticed Roger and Chrissie.

"But what a pleasant surprise!" she exclaimed as she greeted them.

Roger went to her, wanting to kiss her, but Dominique moved away a little with some fear.

"Sorry, my love, but not here, workplace, you know?" she recommended, not wanting to cause problems with her boss, but still, she wanted to kiss him too "look Rog, Chrissie, the day is quite busy so, sorry for the hurry, but talk quickly what you need to talk to me."

In the face of Dominique's pressure and haste, Roger stood still, afraid of what he should say, not sure how he'd use his short time to do something so important.

"Actually, Roger came to say something very important." Chrissie decided to help.

"Marry me?" he poured out, deciding to use the little time he had taken by the great emotion simply by expressing his great desire.

"What?" Dominique gasped, completely shocked.

"I know it's kind of too direct, and I'm very stupid sometimes, but I really want to marry you, because ..." Roger was explaining as he could "I love you, that's it, I love you Dominique, and I want you to be part of my life every day. Please, I know I don't deserve you, but say yes, say yes ..."

Dominique was so thrilled, but also happy, hardly believing that she had just received a marriage proposal, which she didnt expect so much to receive, but if there was anyone she wanted to marry, it was Roger Taylor, even being fumbling, silly Immature, but completely sincere and passionate.

"Mr. Taylor, you did something I never thought anyone would do to me" she composed herself, taking in the usual serious stance "it may have been direct but that's the best marriage proposal ever because it's you who did it, on your very Roger way."

"Okay, I know, I know," he was astonished, desperate for a straight answer, "but is it yes or no?"

"Yes, yes" She smiled completely euphoric "I want to marry you too."

It was Dominique's turn to approach Roger, trying to win a kiss, but he stepped back a little on purpose.

"What about the rule of not showing affection in the workplace?" he said teasingly.

"I think for a moment like this we can make an exception, don't you think?" She answered in a superior tone, also joking.

"I completely agree." Roger gave his iconic mischievous smile to his girlfriend and without further hesitation kissed her, celebrating his great achievement, because she agreed to be his wife.

That whole show ended up touching the reception customers, who clapped their hands to the engaged couple.

"Did something happen?" Branson ended up being alert by the noise and came to see in person what was happening.

"Nothing, nothing Mr. Branson" Dominique was quick to respond, even embarrassed "I just got engaged!"

She was showing her hand, but there was no ring there. Roger realized his mistake and quickly corrected it, putting the ring in place.

"I hope you don't forget our wedding day," she commented because of his little misconception.

"Never, never at all." Roger looked into her eyes and promised, completely in love. "See you later?"

"Sure," Dominique kissed him again, saying goodbye to him. "Bye Chrissie, and thanks for everything."

"You're welcome, it was a pleasure to be able to help," Mrs. May smiled, so glad to see her friend completely in the clouds, knowing the feeling of knowing she was going to marry the love of her life.

As agreed, Dominique and Roger saw each other again, he was waiting for her, ready to pick her up at her apartment, so that together they could go to the Mays' house to tell the rest of their friends firsthand.

"How's my fiancee today?" That's what Roger said as he opened the car door for her.

"Thrilled, still scared of what you did, but happy, really happy," she said in response, sitting in her seat and then sighing. "I can hardly believe Rog, I just ... thank you for choosing me, for loving me as I am, not only on the outside but on the inside."

"Of course, I love you for all that you are and nothing and no one could take your place in my heart, I mean it," he said truthfully, and added a wink at last.

It made Dominique laugh softly, but her heart was filled with relief at hearing one of Roger's true declarations of love. At Brian and Chrissie's house, the news had already spread and by then, the engaged couple only heard their friends' reactions to their engagement.

"I can't believe it, I can't believe it ..." Brian repeated, delighted with the great fact "he is really getting married! Roger ... Our Roger ..."

"And with the same prank girl" John commented, impressed "no offense Dominique, by the way, I wish you luck and you keep putting him in line because sometimes we don't even know what to do with him."

"I always thought you were too good for him Dom, but if you said yes ..." Freddie told the bride, teasing her old friend.

"What is this guys?!" Roger got a little angry, expecting better reactions than these "no one will give me a normal congratulations, no?"

"Okay, I do it" Mary got convinced "you wanting to get married is admirable."

"Thanks!" the fiancé replied, very satisfied.

"Take good care of Dom, okay? She deserves the best, huh!" Veronica asked.

"I know he will take care of me, he already does that" Dominique smiled confirming and looked at Roger, completely in love "I know you will be an excellent husband."

As Roger himself had said earlier that day, if it were a few years ago, he himself wouldn't believe he would ever wish to get marry. He was certain that this feeling was only aroused because the right girl had emerged, Dominique really was his soul mate. As for her, she was amazed to see that her old dreams were coming true, one way or another, it was worth dreaming about having a good husband, and that was what she was about to achieve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys" Here is Roger's proposal, one of my favorites of the Through Chrissie's eyes saga. And today is a very special day too, because exactly 1 year ago I watched Bohemian Rhapsody for the first time and since then I've been writing stories about the boys and girls of Queen. Today is also the birthday of a friend of mine who is a fan of Queen. Thanks to all of you who read my stories, keep reading and see you next Monday!


	26. Curious Decisions

For all the euphoria and excitement about being asked to get married and become engaged, Dominique soon began to think of all the demands that the wedding would require. She waited a week for her to begin to get used to the idea and soon after invited, or rather summoned her fiance to a very serious meeting.

"I hope I didn't do anything wrong this time," he told Dominique as she opened the door, trying to joke but worried.

"No, that's not it," she allowed herself to laugh. "We just need to start planning the wedding, I hope you have a hurry to get married, no?"

"Oh yes, you can bet so." Roger didn't hesitate to answer.

"Then we need to start thinking about everything," she resumed, "starting with resources, the beginning of everything."

"You mean how are we going to pay for the party and everything?" Roger shrugged as he settled on the couch, stretching like a lazy cat, Dominique ignored his carefree atitude "don't worry about it my love, I pay for everything, I want everything to go as you dream."

"Well, as much as I'm grateful for your kindness," Dominique said sweetly, with a bit of irony, "this is your wedding too, so you have to help me decide everything."

"No Dom, that sounds boring and tiring, with all due respect" he made a face "I prefer to leave it all to you, not that I'm lazy, or wanting to get rid of work, it's just ... I don't have much patience for these things."

"Ah Roger Meddows Taylor!" Dominique closed her eyes and raised her head, shouting her fiancée's full name. "What do I do with you?"

"Just marry me," he reaffirmed, chuckling.

In response, his fiancé slapped a little harder than usual on his arm.

"That hurt!" He rubbed the burning spot.

"I'm serious!" she insisted, speaking directly in front of Roger's face a few inches away.

"Me too," he repeated, leaning forward a little, "you're much better at organizing than me."

"That's true." She gave up, rolling her eyes.

Roger took advantage of the proximity and kissed her, which eventually convinced her to take care of everything.

"Okay, smarty pants," Dominique pointed an index finger at him. "You win, but you will join the organization because there's no wedding without you, and if I do something you don't like, I don't want you blaming me."

"All right, it's fair" he raised his hands in surrender "just let's speed things up, okay?"

"As you wish, Monsier Taylor," she agreed.

So Dominique took a notebook and pen out of her bag, Roger sat up straight and gave his fiancé room to take the seat beside him.

"Very well," she took her assistant posture, beginning her notes. "We have the resource issue decided, but my love, I don't want anything to be too fancy and draw much attention."

"Know what? Me neither,” Roger replied, “I agree it's a special moment and only close friends should be with us."

"That's what I thought," she nodded. "But I also want a triumphant entrance worthy of a bride, which reminds me of the place of the ceremony, in which church should we get married?"

"No church, it's too formal, ah, there's something I demand in this marriage" he got a little agitated "I don't want a very formal thing."

"What would be "not very formal?" " The bride became suspicious and worried.

"Oh you know, nothing too serious," he shrugged.

"Roger, a wedding is a very serious thing." She turned to him, her face closed.

"Of course it is, I know that, I just don't want the ceremony to be too serious, but just right," he explained further.

"Okay, I understand, it's fine with me, as long as you have my entrance and my dress, and a good place to welcome the guests," Dominique demanded again, "which reminds me that we haven't decided on the place again."

"Okay," Roger took a moment to think. "How about ... Hyde Park?"

"Hyde Park? Curious choice ..." Dominique was surprised by the idea "where exactly in Hyde Park would we get married? It is a public place and in broad daylight your presence would attract much attention."

"Yes, by day, but by night ..." Roger smiled as he realized the ideas welling up in his mind "that it, let's do the ceremony at night, we got a license from the city and lit the place with fire, torches to be more accurate, and we set up chairs and an altar in a more secluded spot in the park. It's the place we met too, after all, it's very special."

The whole plan surprised Dominique.

"For who didn't want to help you really had a great idea!" She praised "it's very different, I liked it, so if we aren't getting married in a church, we call a judge to perform the ceremony."

"What if we made an exception and called someone else who got a temporary license to make a wedding official?" Roger suggested.

"Okay, that's another idea I liked," she agreed. "But who do you suggest to do that? It has to be someone known, right?"

"How about Brian?" He smiled as he suggested, thinking it was a good idea.

"Brian? Our Brian?" She was impressed again. "Of all the options I thought, he fits better than anyone."

"Despite that hairstyle, he's good enough for the job," Roger joked.

"Roger!" Dominique laughed, somewhat indignantly "but at this point you're right, Brian is responsible and I think he would love to marry us."

"So, it's done, we have almost everything decided, I'm released, future wife?" he tried to beg.

The way Roger called her made Dominique feel butterflies in her stomach.

"Not yet, future husband!" she said, delighted "where we will receive everyone?"

"In our new house, of course!" Roger answered as if it were obvious.

"House? What do you mean? You bought a house?" It was what impressed Dominique most all night.

"Well, not yet, but there's a place in Surray that I was considering," Roger said. "I'd take you to see it, if you like, the house is ours."

"Rog, you ended up thinking far beyond what I imagined you would think" she commented, thrilled "so ok, our party will be at our house in Surray."

"You haven't even seen the house yet!" Roger teased playfully.

"I trust your taste," she countered, then kissed him, showing all her gratitude that Roger was already thinking about their future and their stay.

"Do you have anything else to decide?" Roger asked, a little more interested in helping.

"Oh ... What are we going to wear and the date" she replied "then just hand out the invitations and choose the buffet."

"Okay, just buy the dress you want, I pay, the same goes for me" the groom said willingly "and you choose the food and the date."

"Alright" Dominique liked the division "I already know what to serve for dinner, as for the date, how about April 12?"

"If you have time to arrange everything by then, that's fine with me." He smiled with satisfaction.

"So now, leave it to me that I'll make sure my weddingi is perfect." Dominique sounded like a dreamy girl.

"Our wedding," Roger corrected her gently.

"Yeah," she agreed, looking at him, delighted.

They exchanged one more kiss, excited and eager for the day they were planning to come soon.


	27. Family Meetings

Françoise was at her mother's side, waiting for her ride at London Heathrow Airport. Dominique had promised on the phone that she would pick them up on time, and they wouldn't have to worry about a cab or any expense.

Dominique was already there looking for her mother and sister, and she was so happy to see them that she didn't hesitate to hug them.

_"It's so good to see you!"_ she exclaimed.

_"Me too my dear, it's been too long since we met_ ," Marie Beyrand said for the thousandth time.

_"I know, and I apologize again,"_ Dom was a little embarrassed by her mother's scolding, _"but I'm glad you're here now."_

_"Yeah, you're getting married!"_  Françoise said impressed, _"I didn't think I'd see that day coming."_

_"Why exactly?_ " Dominique narrowed her eyes at her.

_"You found time to date someone when you just think about work and more work"_ Fran was sincere.

_"I'll confess you're right_ " yet Dom still scowled " _so, shall we go? Roger is waiting."_

_"So is he here? Oh, how wonderful!"_ the girls' mother was excited, which caused daughters to be amazed.

Dominique just took them where Roger was. When Mrs. Beyrand spotted him, smiled even wider, as if approving him even more. Francoise was even more impressed.

_"Welcome to London and thanks for coming_ ," Roger said in his accented French, gently shaking the Beyrands' hands.

"Yeah ... Nice to meet you, mr. Taylor,” ventured Mrs. Beyrand in English "you are very handsome ... In person."

"Thank you, Mrs. Beyrand" Roger didn't deny liking the compliment, giving his soon to be mother-in-law an even bigger smile.

"Hi Roger, thank you for the wedding invitation." Françoise was more serious.

"I thank you for coming" he was also more serious with her "it's a pleasure to welcome you."

Roger took them to Dominique's apartment, enjoying the day off.

Both John Reid and his bandmates decided to work a little less to give the groom more time to take care of wedding preparations. These preparations also included receiving his own family as well.

During the day Marie and Françoise arrived, Roger spent the day with his fiancée's family, answering their questions with the help of Dominique's translation, telling more about his life, his friends, the band. Fortunately, the Beyrands approved of the man who would be Dominique's husband, despite the laid-back, relaxed way Taylor took his commitments and priorities very seriously, the largest being Dominique.

All was well, when it was his turn to welcome the Taylors in London. Of course, Dominique got nervous, wanted to make a good impression on Winnie and Clare, and if possible become friends with them as soon as possible.

The three met at Roger's apartment. Dominique waited while he picked them up at the airport.

"So this is Dominique," said Mrs. Taylor, but proudly, not a shred of contempt "it's so good to meet you after so long that I only hear Roger talk about you, and everything he says lives up to who you are."

"Oh Mrs. Taylor, I have no words" Dom was surprised, the meeting was going better than she expected "thank you."

"You're welcome." Winnie approached, hugging her future daughter-in-law.

"You are amazing, Dominique, really!" Clare was as relaxed as her brother.

"Hi, Clare, right?" Dom grinned, greeting her soon to be sister-in-law, "nice to meet you, but why exactly am I amazing?"

"It's not difficult to answer that question." Roger smiled sideways at his fiancé.

"She asked me, silly" Clare snapped, but in a playful way "well, you were the only one who managed to fix my brother. If there was one thing that bothered me was to see him running from two girlfriends, not to discover each other, when he was already watching the third ..."

“Clare, Clare, Clare, I'm not like that anymore!” Roger gestured exaggeratedly, almost covering his sister's mouth.

"What are you talking about?" Dominique was curious, not jealous.

"It doesn't matter, Dom, it's in the past," her fiancé justified.

"Okay, I may have talked too much, but Roger was always very flirty" Clare spoke again "I was hoping that one day he would make sense and meet something special, I thought this person would be Jo, but I'm happy that was you, really."

"Well, I didn't even know I was capable of such a feat" Dominique was sincere "but I'm glad to see that Roger has changed for me and his sake."

"I'm right here, but I agree with all that," Roger said at his sister's statements, kissing his fiancée's cheek in contentment.  


A few days later, to Dominique's surprise, she got a call from Michael Taylor. Roger didn't talk much about his father, she soon deduced that it was a sensitive subject, so she didn't press him about it. When she mentioned sending an invitation to Michael, Roger didn't object, saying that she could do whatever she wanted, he doubted that his father would attend anyway.

"Hello?" she said on the phone at work reception, noticing the hesitation on the other end of the line.

"I talk to Miss. Beyrand, Roger Taylor's fiancee?" he asked, and Dominique was suspicious of who he was.

"Why? That's me" she was polite, though incisive.

"I'm Michael, Roger's father, I would like to ..." He hesitated again, searching for the right words to say. "I'd like to go to the wedding, I don't know if he'd like that".

"I understand, Mr. Taylor" Dominique used all her courtesy, but also feeling her heart breaking at the thought of the hurt Roger felt for his father "you were invited, you have the right to go like any other guest, Roger ... He allowed me to invite you, it would be a pleasure to have you with us."

"I ... I appreciate your kindness, Miss," he answered softly. "Bye."

Michael hung up so fast that Dominique didn't have time to react. Still, it was clear she needed to do something about it.

As soon as she left work, she went straight to Roger's apartment. She smiled when he came to greet her with a kiss, but he also noted her concern.

"What is it, Dom? I hope Branson didn't bother you today" Roger tried to joke, managing to get a small smile from her.

"It has nothing to do with Mr. Branson, he always treats me well,” she began to explain. “It's just that your father called me today, he's afraid to come to the wedding because of you."

"Because of me?" Roger couldn't help but get angry "oh no, it's all his fault."

"Why? I know it's hard for you to talk about it, but I think, as your future wife, I deserve to know,” Dominique pleaded.

"Sure, you're right," he calmed down a little. "Dominique, my father was always a brute, with no patience with us or my mother, it seemed like nothing or no one could please him, and sometimes he would discount this anger in us. My mother got to a point she couldn't take anymore and separated from him."

"I get it, I get it," she repeated, reassuring him, hugging him, "but you have no chance of your father still loving you? After all, you and Clare are his children."

"I ..." Roger let a tear fall "I think so, but anger always hid his love."

"Maybe you should give this hidden love a chance, at least for one day," she advised, stroking her fiance's back. "He sounded quite sincere to me on the phone."

Roger took a long breath, trying to recover from that moment of strong emotion.

"He can come if he wants, but I promise nothing, I don't know if I can talk to him." He looked at her with regret. "I'm sorry, Dom, but that's all I can do."

"And that's fine with me, really." She gave him a long kiss on his cheek so he doesn't forget how much he was loved.

So Dominique prepared to welcome Michael to their wedding, supporting Roger in the middle of that difficult encounter.


	28. Dominique and Roger's wedding

Roger had been so nervous, so anxious, that he didn't know what to do to make time pass faster. If he had been feeling this way a few years ago, he would probably take the car and drive around without a certain destination, but not today, he wasn't lost, his life was on its way, making even more sense because he would marry Dominique. He decided to spend some time training, playing was something that really helped him to relax, to forget about the problems making music, but still the time kept going. He had only to be patient, and that was what he decided to do, waiting for the right time and moment.

Dominique felt she would have no time to breathe that day except at the time of the party, she got right every last detail of the wedding, ensuring everything went well. She arrived around 5:30 at home and only then began to get ready.

By 6:30, Roger was already taking his place by the altar, few guests were already filling their assigned chairs, and as the sun faded into the daylight, the groom forced his vision to see better in front of him, at a certain distance, exactly where Dominique would pass. Suddenly, his anxiety attacked him again, his hands were shaking and sweating, the impression he had was that he hadn't seen his beloved in a century. All this peculiar behavior was understandable as well as visible, so it didn't go unnoticed by Chrissie, who was sitting next to Brian; Her husband, in turn, revised his lines for the wedding, while she looked with pride and a kind of amusement to the groom. When Brian finished his reading, he also realized how his best friend was, he smiled at first, delighted that Roger was now an anxious groom waiting for his bride, and then understood him completely. He got up and went to him, trying to comfort him.

"Hey, mate, stay calm, okay?" Brian put both hands on his shoulders "I know the emotions are too strong to hold, but don't worry, it will be all right."

"I know, Bri, it's just that I've never been very patient, you know that." Roger shrugged.

"But I'm sure you know that every second you've waited since you met Dominique so far, just now that it's only a few minutes left, is worth waiting for." Brian smiled confidently.

"Right, brother, as always, you're right." Roger gave a sincere smile as his friend returned to his seat.

Old May was right, the groom thought, but still, it was almost a torture to keep waiting, especially when all thoughts of Roger turned to Dominique, as she would be now, if she was already on her way. Unable to control himself, he began pacing. By this point, his groomsmen and maids were already standing beside him, just waiting for the bride, and reacted differently to Roger's despair, the boys found it amusing while the girls found him cute, but Taylor took the opportunity to ask questions that maybe just Mrs. May could answer.

"Do you think she's okay?" He went straight, sounding distressed, not bothering to specify who he was talking about "did you even talk to her today? How was she? No sign of her giving up, right?"

"She's not going anywhere except here, Rog, I guarantee you," Chrissie said without a doubt, knowing her friend well, "she really loves you, and I hope you love her forever the same way."

"I will, of course I will," Roger said wholeheartedly, willing to do that.

While the groomsmen argued with the groom, they hardly noticed Dominique coming. In the distance, she felt so small in the face of all the neatness and organization. The white carpet stretched across the floor where she would pass, the torches lighting the way, the arch over the altar, Brian positioned to begin the ceremony. For a moment she felt lonely, her heart trembled with longing, as she wished her father had been there, but he had been gone for a long time, and all her eldest daughter could do at the moment was walk, marry the man who she loved, honoring the memory of her father living a happy life. She then walked, one step at a time, keeping her delicacy and elegance so characteristic, but overflowing her emotion in her features.

As soon as his eyes landed on her, Roger stood still, Dominique was so close, beautiful, like an angel, his angel, her immaculate white dress, her bangs falling delicately over her forehead, the rest of her hair flowing back, perfect, a real dream. For a moment, he couldn't move, just admired her.

"Go get her," Chrissie advised her friend, speaking softly.

Roger nodded, hurrying to the bride, pausing a little in front of her.

"Hi ..." he said in a sigh, completely delighted, unable to say anything more.

"Hi," Dominique replied, moved to see him so in love, even more than he already was.

Unable to contain himself, Roger kissed her, not caring about anything but her, reaffirming that she was real and right there. Dom didn't think it was bad and ended up surrendering to it.

"Roger, that's for the end!" Freddie warned him out loud, which had a certain effect on the groom and caused laughter of the other guests.

Roger then agreed to offer Dominique an arm and they walked together to the altar.

"Well ..." Brian was a little embarrassed by the unexpected kiss, but compiled himself to perform his function "good evening everyone! I speak on behalf of Roger and Dominique that it's a pleasure to welcome you at this time and place to see these two friends we love so much come together in marriage. They must be wondering why they get married in Hyde Park. Well, this is where the love of Dominique and Roger was born, in an unusual, confused way involving firecrackers and chewing gum, but here we are. There would be no better place to celebrate this union. Roger Taylor, Roger Meddows Taylor, my old friend, who always gave me a headache but never denied me a his friendship when I needed it, today you make the choice to make Dominique your wife, who will you love and care for forever?"

"Yes!" Roger said loudly, so everyone heard him.

"Dominique Beyrand," Brian told her, "clever and wise Dom, the prank girl, our sister at heart, today you make the choice to make Roger your husband, who will you love and care for forever?"

"Yes," Dominique said, looking at Roger.

"Given this," Brian continued, "showing that you truly become each other's spouses, I ask you to declare your love to each other at this time. Dominique, first."

"Roger ..." she called him, sighing like the woman that was in love with him that she was. "I thought you were a complete jerk when I met you, but I'm glad I saw your true, caring, sensitive self that make me believe I'm the only girl in the world for you. And since we're together, that feeling has never gone away, because it's true. I love you with all my heart, even being so silly sometimes, and I promise to keep loving you."

The clapping praised her vows.

"Roger, your turn," Brian instructed.

"Dominique, I never thought I'd meet you," he paused because he was so thrilled. "Because you're so unique, so special, like no one I've met before. I don't know if you consider me made for you, but I'm sure you were made for me, because without you I would be lost, and because of you, I strive to be better, to be up to you everyday. Thank you so much for choosing me to be your husband, it's a privilege! Je t'aime!"

"Je t'aime Rog ..." Dominique was moved to hear her fiance say that love her in French, her first language.

"Well, in light of that, by the power vested in me temporarily by Her Majesty's government, I declare Roger and Dominique married!" Brian declared with joy "Now is time to kiss the bride, Rog!"

He wasted no time, but Dominique wasn't surprised, he kept the kiss for a long time, and at that moment, she just wanted to stay there, enjoying all the happiness and love of that gesture. Meanwhile, fireworks flooded the night sky over Hyde Park, the sound surprising the bride, as this surprise had been the groom's idea.

"Wow!" She exclaimed, impressed, looking up at the colorful sky.

"I did just like you did the day we met" Roger said as he hugged her from behind, holding her waist "but my firecrackers are of another type ..."

"You are impossible!" She said, shaking her head but laughing, thinking that only Roger Taylor could do such a thing.

The memory of Queen's rehearsal in which she took revenge on his annoying behavior was amusing, and even ironic, made perfect sense now. As Brian had said, they started in an unusual, unlikely way, but being together is what should happen, she felt it in her heart.

With their faces so close to each other, Roger and Dominique admired the spectacle of light overhead, happy for now they would be together forever as husband and wife.


	29. In the following months

Dominique and Roger had just arrived at their party, and to their delight, everything was perfect, so much so that she sighed with relief.

"Is everything all right, my love?" Roger asked beside her, slightly worried.

"Oh yes, is that everything is so beautiful, for a moment I didn't think it would succeed" she confessed.

"No, there's nothing you can't do, you're the most responsible and competent person I know," he complimented, which made his wife blush.

"Thanks," she smiled.

Encouraged by her husband's words of support, she accompanied him in greeting the guests, thanking everyone for their presence. When Roger saw that he was approaching his father, he dodged a little.

"I'm going there with the boys" he disguised, looking at the instruments in position, just waiting to be played "they must be excited to play."

"Sure, you can go." Dom kissed his cheek, saying goodbye to her husband temporarily.

Mrs. Taylor, in turn, found refuge with her friends, sitting next to the other "Queen Girls".

"Hi girls, is everything all right here? Are you well accommodated?" She was attentive to her friends.

"Don't worry, we're great, thanks," Mary thanked them all.

"Speaking of feeling great, how are you doing now? After everything has passed" Veronica asked.

"Honestly, it looks like the worst is over," Dominique allowed herself to laugh. "I have a feeling that putting up with Roger every day is going to be so much easier because I'm used to it."

"Yeah, I think after we get married some things get easier and some things get harder," Chrissie opined. "But in the end you learn how to handle all that."

"Yes, Mrs. May, I hope this happens to me.” Dom smiled hopefully at her friend.

The girls would keep talking if they weren't interrupted by Roger and the boys started playing.

"Hi guys, good evening!" he shouted, greeting the audience "thank you again for coming and thank you, Dom, for being part of my life, I love you!"

"Love you too!" she shouted back.

"So let's start rocking this party!" Roger resumed "and with you, a special concert of me and my best friends, Queen!"

The first turn he played on drums came straight from "I'm in love with my car." If there was one thing Mary, Chrissie, Dominique, and Veronica liked to do most was to see their loved ones playing together, but the four of them weren't exactly fans of Roger's car music either. Mrs. Taylor wouldn't tolerate that peculiar song at her wedding party, she excused her friends, and went to where Roger was.

"Roger ..." she whispered, trying not to disturb the presentation.

"Hi," he answered quickly, trying not to be distracted.

"Can you change the song?" she asked, somewhat annoyed.

"Why?" he was confused.

"Please!" She spoke a little more firmly, he just nodded and gave a signal to his friends.

They changed the song to "Modern Times Rock 'n Roll," Roger knew it was best to please his wife, after all, it was her wedding, too, and he had his own suspicions about why Dominique had asked to change the song.

Lulled by the sound of Queen and other songs, the Taylors' guests danced and enjoyed the songs, and whether or not the party was coming to an end. Clare and Winnie were already leaving, Michael managed to run and say goodbye to them, his ex wife had learned to forgive him, his daughter still kept her considerations for him. Of course he didn't want to leave without saying goodbye to the couple and thanking them for the party.

Dominique saw him approaching, Roger tensed a little, but this time he did nothing, got no reaction waiting to see what would happen.

"I'm leaving, miss, I mean, ma'am." He was embarrassed to correct himself, looking down for a brief moment and then looking back into Dominique's eyes. "Thank you."

"I appreciate you coming," she was understanding, hugging him.

"Right and ..." He looked at his son with suspicion "Roger ... I'm glad you got married, you're a lucky man, Dominique is lovely."

She herself smiled at the compliment, she knew it was a private and alone moment, but knew that if she left, Roger would never forgive her. She just struggled to be quiet and imperceptible so as not to disturb.

"I hope you are happy and that you value her, don't waste your chances as I did," Michael said regretfully.

"I won't, I'm sure I won't, I'm committed not to lose her," Roger said seriously, but he managed to contain himself.

"Good night, son." Michael felt it was best to leave.

"Good night, Dad." Roger could at least shake his hand.

Dominique hugged him, rewarding him for his great act of courage. After the emotional confrontation, the couple was finally able to relax and spend their honeymoon in Paris, it was a favorite place of Dominique, where she had grown up and Roger, due to the tours, knew the city relatively well.

It was wonderful two weeks, just in the company of each other, but soon duty called them. Before they could actually settle in, the Taylors' residence required extra care, and again, Dominique Taylor was in charge of it.

After arriving in London, organizing everything, they finally moved on, starting to get used to their new home. The house was relatively large, with the backyard taking up a long space, but with a few more rooms. The best of all the rooms in the house was theirs.

Back at work, the Taylors continued their respective duties, Dominique with Mr. Branson and Roger with Queen. At the moment, the band was more focused on their studio work than on the upcoming tour, which was a relief to Mrs. Taylor, since she didn't want to say goodbye to her husband anytime soon.

Already accustomed to Roger's customs and crazes, Dom was glad to see him concentrated, working on something important. In his agitated and impulsive manner, he wrote quickly, muttered a rhythm, tapped his pen on his leg, wrote again.

"So ..." She said softly, trying not to disturb, but wanting to get his attention.

"Yeah, love?" he stopped to look at her, asking in a relaxed and cute way.

"Is this your composing process?" asked his wife.

"Oh I think so, I never noticed if I had a method or not, making music is more of a natural thing" he shrugged.

"I suppose so," she agreed with a hand on her chin, "and can I take a look at your newest composition?"

"Oh not yet because it's not ready, I'm sorry Dom" he was really afraid "I'd rather you see the final version."

"Are you really going to deny a request from your wife?" she tried to tease jokingly.

"I'm not, because I know it's possible to grant your wish better" he gave her a sideways smile and stole a kiss from her "um, you could see us recording when we go to record."

"I may try to go, but I don't know if I'll be available because of the work," she mused.

"You and your work!" Roger rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Do you love working more than me?"

"No, of course not," Dominique laughed and kissed his cheek. "I can manage and get a way to be there, okay?"

"Fine, thanks." He smiled genuinely.

"You're welcome," she kissed him, deciding to leave him with his work and not distract him anymore.


	30. Staying at home

As much as work had been one of Dominique's priorities for a long time, she was gradually leaving it in the background by having a serious relationship with Roger, and this became even more evident once she married him. If it was before they were together, she wouldn't be missing work even if she was sick, but now, knowing that her husband would spend a few months far away from her, getting separated by an entire ocean, she made a point of taking a day off for her to say goodbye to Roger at the airport. Queen was about to embark to Brazil, participating in the local festival called Rock in Rio.

His luggage was already checked, the boys were there, saying goodbye to their girlfriend and wives, they were relatively relaxed, used to such occasions, but between them Chrissie looked very nervous, and Dominique noticed that, knowing the reason as well.

"Chrissie, it's alright " Mrs. Taylor approached her, stating a good thing even feeling her friend's doubts.

"Oh sure, I know, it's gonna be all right, but, do you know when you start a new job or something? This is literally how I feel" confessed Mrs. May, a little nervous.

"I understand, it's completely different from what you were used to, I mean, but in a way, you're used to it all, always keeping up with the boys ," Dominique pointed out. "Just think of it as another trip and I'm sure that Brian will always be by your side, and of course, don't spare Roger if he try something mischievous, you have my permission for that."

The last part made Chrissie laugh, and she relaxed. Dominique gave her a farewell hug, wishing her luck as an assistant. Roger then approached, facing the moment with difficulty. It hadn't been a day when they hadn't seen each other since they had started dating, and now he would be far from his beloved, already beginning to feel the pain of distance.

"Have a nice trip" Mrs. Taylor wished her husband with a sigh -"be careful, don't get in trouble and most importantly, do a great job rocking Rio."

"Oh you can count on that, ma'am, I'll be back safe and sound for you, it's a promise" Roger even put a hand over his heart.

"I'll miss you," she hugged him unceremoniously, feeling the need to do so. "Call me whenever you can, and ... I love you, I love you so much, Roger!"

"Hey, don't worry, it's gonna be like when we stay in Wales, of course I'll call you, I love you a lot too, Dom" as soon as she was done, Roger kissed her for a long time.

Only then did they part, and she saw him climb the stairs to the plane, watching from afar, wondering what these next days might be like.

She remained focused on her work, but happy for every new call she received. Roger was always excited on the phone, talking about what he liked best in Brazil and how the public had received them so wonderfully. When he didn't call, and the night ahead seemed too long, Dominique would visit Veronica or Mary, which always helped.

One night after a little rest Dominique ended up visiting the Deacons. She found Ronnie a little tired, but still, her friend was still in a good mood and smiling.

"Good to see you, Dominique, please come in," she offered the visitor.

"I hope I'm not bothering you or anything, I thought it was a good idea to pay a visit," justified Mrs. Taylor.

"And of course it is, we keep each other company," Ronnie agreed.

"And where is Bobby?" Dom missed the little boy.

"Yeah, I just put him to sleep, sometimes he can be pretty stubborn and not sleep at all, especially now, because of John and the boys away" Mrs. Deacon explained.

"Of course, these trips must be even harder for him, because he's so young to understand," Dominique mused.

"You're right, it's true, but at least I'm hoping that when he grows up he'll understand better, both of them, by the way." Ronnie smiled and pointed to her own belly.

"Oh, the baby, how are you feeling?" The visitor remembered the conditions of her friend.

"Well, very well, sometimes a little anxious, but soon it goes" Ronnie was frank "you know, sometimes anxiety is like that, you can drive away the worry with a little rationality and optimism."

"What exactly do you mean?" Dominique was intrigued by the concept.

"Oh, I'? just thinking that I'm going to have two kids to take care of, it can be a little scary, but then I remember I had all my initial experiences with Robert" Veronica was saying "and it was all so fast and scary when he was born, but now things are much more structured, and John is such a wonderful dad, I just need to share my attention and take care of the kids well and it will be all right."

"You make it look so easy, I think you were born for it" Dom complimented her "I don't know if ..."

"What, Dom? You don't have to tell md if you don't want to, but I think I already know what it is" Ronnie blurted out.

"Well, if you know, Veronica, there's no point in me hiding it." Mrs. Taylor was slightly embarrassed "I confess I'm afraid, when it happens to me, I know Roger loves kids, me too, really, but ... being a mother really changes your life, doesn't it?"

"Yes, yes." Mrs. Deacon was very understanding "only that everything that comes with it takes the fear away, really, and you would be ... I will dare say, an excellent mother, when the time comes."

"Thank you" Mrs. Taylor was grateful for her friend's understanding.

Putting worries aside, Dominique took care of her home and other interests again, just waiting for Roger's return. Finally, she received the news that he and his friends were coming home. Unfortunately, she couldn't wait for him at the airport, but she was waiting in front of their house.

It seemed that all London taxis were passing Surray that afternoon, but none seemed to be bringing Roger Taylor until he showed up, parking in front.

Dominique held on not to rush to him, Rog looked the same, no apparent change, which his wife thought was great.

"Hey, my love!" He was charming talking to her, who rolled her eyes, but Dominique had missed even that.

"Hi Roger." She gave him a tight hug and only then kissed him.

"How are you, gorgeous?" he asked sincerely.

"Despite missing you, all is fine, the house is in order, my work too, my husband is back, so it's all wonderful!" she said excitedly.

"I agree." Roger gave his wife a genuine smile.

He put a hand around her shoulders, kissing the side of her head, keeping her close to him as they entered his house. Finally Roger was where he most wanted to be and who he most wanted to be with after all the time away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was today's chapter, no wonder Dominique had this conversation with Veronica, because soon she will be a mother too, just wait!
> 
> I wanted to tell you that on the last 5th, it completed a year since I started writing Through Chrissie's Eyes, to celebrate this, I would like you to write in the comments questions you would like to ask Brian and Chrissie from my stories. I will answer everything, in a very different way, just wait. Thank you and bye!


	31. A little surprise

As Roger had invited her, Dominique managed to find space in her time to be present at the studio when the band was recording the songs for the new album and that's how she first heard "Drowse".

After the whole rehearsal process, seeing what worked and what didn't work for the song, accepting suggestions, experimenting, the song was finally ready to be recorded and Dominique heard it, it was a softer and much calmer melody than Roger used to compose, immediately Mrs. Taylor liked the song and chose it as one of her husband's favorite compositions.

Knowing this made him happy because he had his wife's support and pride, a pride that extended to her presence on the tour and other events that involved "A Day at the Races." However, while everything was going well, Dominique noticed some differences in herself, had the impression she was less willing than usual, maybe it was her extensive work, and finally she was admitting that she worked too hard.

Even so, his discomfort didn't go away, and as quickly as he used to do with every problem he dealt with, it resolved the situation. Before leaving Roger worried, she warned him nothing, just wanted to resolve the issue at once, if sick, would take the medicine recommended by the doctor and everything would be resolved. Mrs. Taylor underwent several exams, then waited for a response. No doctor comes to see her anymore, which she found strange, but at least they sent a nurse.

"Well, ma'am, the doctor had to attend an emergency, but I have the results here, and your symptoms indicate you are pregnant," the girl explained, which puzzled Dominique.

"Wow ... Mon Dieu ..." she murmured, completely impressed "it seems that my time came earlier than I expected."

Dominique's placement startled the nurse, who had misunderstood what she had said.

"Sorry, that's not what I meant" the assistant gathered herself "is that a while ago I was talking about motherhood with a friend of mine and ... It's a pretty coincidence that this happens now ..."

"Okay," the nurse returned, already getting back to her duties. "Excuse me".

After being alone, Dominique began to redesign all of her plans, both immediate and that day, as those of the future, indeed, her future was right there. Her son was already being raised, and it was too incredible for her to understand at once.

As she returned home, she began to laugh alone, of pure happiness. Only then did she start thinking about how she would tell Roger, deciding it was good to wait a little longer, until she got used to the idea without scaring him, since she knew his reaction would be big and exaggerated, like every time. he was very moved.

Dominique also kept her secret in her work, taking the next few weeks to organize and advance whatever was needed, as she would soon have to take maternity leave. She was also waiting for a moment when Roger was calm and quiet to hear what she had to say. One day when she left work and found him at home, she realized it was the perfect time. Roger noticed the tension in his wife's face and then approached, offering comfort.

"Dom, what is it? Some problem?" He touched his wife's face with both hands, his gaze searching the motives for her concern.

"Oh no, no problem, Rog, just sit here a little." She settled on the living room couch and her husband did the same as she did.

"If it's no problem, it's a serious thing," he kept trying to guess.

"Yes, very serious, it will change our lives," she said flatly.

"Okay, it's freaking me out," Roger confessed.

"My love," she said sweetly, realizing it was better to be direct. "I found out I'm expecting a baby ..."

"Oh!" Roger took a long breath, widening his eyes, looking incredulously at his wife "I can't believe it, I can't believe it... Dom..."

Roger laughed with hapiness, delighted, kissing his wife's face many times, until he let her be, allowing her to say what she wanted.

"I know, it was suddenly," she said more quietly, but just as happily.

"There is no problem, by the way, even if it happened suddenly, I believe nothing happens by chance, which includes little Junior" Roger gave a huge smile, kneeling in front of his wife, so that he could touch her belly.

Still, his hands hesitated to do so, remembering to be careful. Only then, very slowly, did he touch Dominique's womb, making his presence very real, even though he knew the baby might not be aware of it.

"Thank you for being happy, I thought you were going to be." She stroked his hair, thrilled with such affection.

"And as I always say, you know me so well, and you're never wrong about anything." He kissed his wife's belly, which tickled and made her laugh. "Of course I'm happy, I know maybe I don't seem to have a very paternal style, but I really want this child and I already love him so much. Did you hear, Junior? Daddy loves you."

"I don't know about Junior, but I agree I love Mon Petit too." She smiled.

Roger then celebrated the news by kissing her, showing all his love. When they parted, their lips parted slowly, and he stood up quickly.

"I had an idea!" Roger put his hands on his hips and said, determined.

"Okay, I just hope it doesn't involve anything dangerous," Dominique advised.

"Oh no, no, I'm so glad I want to tell the boys ASAP!" he told his plan excitedly "wait, there's my mother and your mother, and my sister and your sister to tell."

"My love, breathe, one thing at a time, okay?" it was her turn to touch her husband's face "let's do it like this, we tell the family first, and to the people, we can make them a dinner tomorrow, okay? Then we will have time to organize everything."

"Sure, sorry for the rush, is that I'm so excited!" Roger was really energetic.

"Yeah, I see, but let's slow down, this will be important when the baby is born," Dom said gently.

Roger nodded and kissed her once more. Calmer, he called his mother and Clare, who were astonishingly pleased. They made it clear to Roger that it was a real miracle that he was becoming a family man, in which he agreed in the midst of his irritation.

Marie and Françoise were also surprised, and they even cried over the thrill of knowing that their dear Dom would become a mother. As for their friends, the Taylors would wait until the following night to share the reason for their great joy.


	32. Celebrating with the family

Under Dominique's close supervision, her home table was ready to welcome her friends. Queen was more than a band, she realized that from the first time she saw the four mates, they had an incredible complicity that perpetuated outside the workplace, this friendship extended to her too, and that's why she and Roger made a point of celebrating the good news in a special way with their friends.

"I just hope they won't be late" Roger checked his watch one more time "I'm so eager to tell!"

"I know, it's quite visible," she gestured to him playfully, "but calm down, it's not long now so they'll be here."

A moment later the doorbell rang, alerting the homeowners that their visitors had arrived. Roger ran off like a child about to get a gift, his expression so euphoric that it scared Brian.

"Dude ... Is everything alright?" said the guitarist, surprised and worried.

"This?" Taylor gestured to himself, being aware of how happy he was "don't worry Bri, it's nothing ... is that ..."

"Rog, don't tell them yet!" Brian and Chrissie heard Dominique say in the distance, approaching the door "calm down, wait, I want us to do it together."

"As you wish, Mrs. Taylor" Roger agreed with his wife and let the Mays in.

Shortly after, the Deacon joined them, Veronica and John arrived with little Robert.

"Do you think Freddie is coming?" Dominique questioned, seeing that only he was missing among the friends "he's late ..."

"Not new," John said complainingly, "if he doesn't delay, it's not him."

"Maybe he'll come later," Chrissie said.

"Still, we can't wait," Roger hastened the subject.

"Well, I think I'll tell you now," Dominique decided.

"What about Freddie?" Brian reminded them once more.

"I'll tell him later," Mrs. Taylor decided.

"But you know how he is, if he gets mad, he'll blame us," Brian argued.

"In that case, it's his fault," John said. "He was late."

"Okay, okay, enough discussion." Roger raised his hands to end the conflict. "Just tell now, Dom."

"Alright" she replied, preparing to tell "I'll be the next mother of our group!"

She received hugs from her girl friends, who were already suspicious that this was what Dominique would really tell. The boys, on the other hand, patted Roger on the back, impressed with the fact that he really would become a father and if he would be responsible enough for it.

"I was wondering why you are so suspicious of my responsibility." Roger was annoyed.

"It's because we know you" John completed, with reason.

"You look like those parents who play crazy and dangerous games," Veronica explained better.

"Maybe so," Dominique had to agree, "but he's going to be a great father too."

"Thank you, my love" Roger was grateful that his wife always see the best in him "but guys, seriously, I still can't believe ..."

"Yeah, I thought he was going to faint when I told him," Dominique told her reaction to his reaction, "and then he laughed and didn't stop kissing my whole face."

"Roger has always liked children" Brian defended his friend "he just needed to have a serious relationship to have a child, so here we are."

"We really are because the missing one arrived," Freddie interrupted. "Sorry to come in like this, the door was already open."

"Freddie, we were just talking about you." Roger put an arm around his friend's shoulders. "I think Dom has something to tell you."

"Me? I thought you wanted to tell" Mrs. Taylor returned it playfully.

"You said you were going to tell him." Roger prolonged the joke on purpose, having a good time at Freddie's irritation.

"Are you going to tell or not? Apparently everyone already knows and to be honest, I'm not into guesswork" Freddie answered that.

"I'm going to be a dad, man!" Roger said holding his friend's shoulders in a contagious excitement that still made him more surprised than happy.

"You too? Great! I'm happy for you!" Freddie undid his surprise and congratulated the Taylors.

For Freddie, it was good for his friends to be family men, he thought it was something that suited them, even Roger, but it wasn't a lifestyle he was willing to adopt, he was glad to be the cool uncle.

With the joy of family, Dominique and Roger found it easier to start adapting to the changes in their life and home. He struggled to spend as much time as possible with his wife whenever commitments to Queen allowed.

Mrs. Taylor, in turn, struggled for the first few months to stay firm at work, she faced nausea and upset stomach until she could no longer wait and go on maternity leave. 

After this first period, she and Roger began preparing the house for the baby's arrival. They immediately agreed on where their child's room would be, carefully choosing the crib and furniture that would be there.

The next question Dominique thought about was buying the baby clothes. Roger thought he wouldn't have the patience for that, but his old vanity and interest in fashion convinced him. As Dominique looked around the store, looking for something she liked, Roger took what he wanted without restriction, being so fast that he didn't even have time for his wife to react and stop him.

"What's all this?" she whispered nervously.

"The kid will need clothes, and I liked all those," Roger said, thinking the answer was obvious.

"Okay, but it was kind of exaggerated and it looks like you didn't even choose it right," Dominique argued.

"Of course I chose right, I just went fast!" Roger countered again, and on top of that, gave that irresistible smile that ended up convincing Mrs. Taylor

In the end, she let Roger pay for everything, still getting excited, and Dominique was grateful that she knew it was his way of showing his happiness. As the months passed, she received more gifts from her friends and family, her child was much loved before he was even born.

What was starting to irritate Dominique and she was conflicted with herself was that she felt so much more tired than usual. It was very common for her to fall asleep on the couch, Roger had already lost count of how many times he had found his wife that way. It was one of those times that she confessed something she was feeling.

"Dom ..." Roger approached, calling softly "Dom, it's me, you slept in the living room again ..."

"What?" she muttered, feeling her eyelids flutter as she tried to fully awaken. "Roger, have you been here long?"

"I don't, but it seems that you do" he was sincere "do you want me to take you?"

"How so? Carry me? Thank you, but I can walk on my own.” Dom tried not to sound harsh, but she was hating to feel useless "sorry."

She realized the mistake and let her husband take her hand. With little effort, she soon snuggled into their bed and let Roger tuck the blanket over her.

"It's okay, I think I started to understand the mood swings in pregnancy," Roger said and kissed her forehead, already willing to get up.

"Wait, stay here for a while" she asked sweetly, there was no way Roger could deny his wife's wish "I need to tell you something."

"I'm here," he prepared to hear her.

"The fact that I rest and stay home doing nothing has practically made me nervous, I really don't like feeling worthless," Dominique confessed her thought.

"But who said that? No, you're not the least bit useless, being at rest doesn't make you worthless" Roger touched her forehead "by the way, you've been working a lot harder than me, working for two, and that's too hard, I can hardly imagine what it would be like in your place."

"I am glad you acknowledge my efforts." Mrs. Taylor smiled with satisfaction.

"I'll always do that," Roger assured her, quickly covering Dominique's lips with his own and then stroking her belly, which already covered his entire palm.

He let her rest, he knew she needed it, and he, too, knew that they would soon have almost no rest, but for a good reason.


	33. The little Taylor

Roger finished getting ready that night and looked pityingly at Dominique. At the same time, he regretted, if there was one thing his wife didn't like was that people felt sorry for her, especially because of the occasion. She returned her husband's gaze with a harsher look, not completely angry but firm, so that he understood that all was well.

"Don't worry about anything, Roger, I'll be fine, I promise," Dominique assured him, as much as she had a bad backache, her left hand was supporting her. "We've talked about that."

"I know, I just wish you were there, but I understand why you can't be," he looked down, muttering.

"Do you really understand? Because I don't think so" she sighed "Roger, I can't go, these last months have been pretty heavy on me, and I won't mind missing the show, it's for a good cause, just focus on doing your best for us, and then I see you, simple as that."

"Okay, sorry I worry too much, it's just that I've been away all this time with the tour and even when we're in London, there's no way you can keep up with me" Roger explained "but I understand you, I can't force you, you and the baby need rest."

"Of course we need, don't worry, soon it will be the baby watching the show with me" she kissed his face "now go before you get late."

"Will you really be all right?" He wanted to make sure.

"We both will," she caressed her belly, "now go."

She kissed him, saying goodbye in order to hurry him, but he stood there a little longer. Only then did he give one last wave and the drummer left to play the evening show with his teammates.

Dominique had little time to have the baby, and in the latter stages, she had chosen to stay home, feeling that she could no longer attend the shows so often. Roger regretted that she wasn't there, in the end, he understood that it was better for his wife and child.

While playing, he did his best, thinking of his family but also concentrating on work. At the Taylors house, Dominique was content to stay with the television company, everything was quiet when she felt a sharp twinge in her belly. This wasn't an ordinary kick, it was something much bigger. Her instinct made her no doubt believe that her baby was about to be born.

In a brief moment of fright Dominique began to cry. She was alone, without anyone's support, she didn't blame Roger for being away, she understood his work. Once again in her life, she understood that she would have to face the moment with courage, with strength, this was no time to give in to fear.

She cried out in pain as she felt another contraction, took a deep breath, concentrating on what she should do. She called the reception of the theater where Queen was performing, asking them to let Chrissie know about her condition. She gathered everything she needed and drove to the hospital and was immediately attended to. Again, she regretted Roger not being there, but she knew that soon he would come, she could introduce their son to his father, but for now, this meeting depended on her and Dominique also wanted to meet him.

Nurses held both her hands, it was a warning sign that perhaps the birth was a little complicated because the baby was early. Dominique did as she was told, felt the pain and the medical procedures within her, but the moment that seemed for a second not to be over came to an end when she heard a baby cry. She cried when she realized she was hearing her son for the first time.

"It's a boy, Mrs. Taylor,” the doctor warned, “we need to take him for exams, but he's apparently fine."

Dominique took the short time to recover, it had been a long process, but here she was, completely rewarded. She soon realized that her reward and treasure needed a name.

A while ago, she and Roger began discussing names and came to the conclusion that if they had a boy, he would be called Felix Luther, each of the names chosen by his mother and father respectively. Felix was a perfect name, since in French it referred to happiness and that was what the little boy had brought. So Felix could finally meet his mother. Dominique found him so small and fragile in her arms, agitated, he moved and trembled a lot, but seemed not to give in to crying.

"It's okay, Felix, it's okay to cry," Dominique told him, and instead of crying, her son seemed calmer. "Oh ... Mon petit ... Je t'aime.. soon your father will be here."

They let Dominique stay with Felix more, and that's how Roger found his family. It had been real madness when he got the news. He was just playing and suddenly Chrissie had appeared beside him, alarmed. This was typical of her, but Roger knew his friend always had a good reason to be like that. She leaned over and whispered in his ear.

"Dominique will have the baby now."

The phrase aroused his senses, making him catch the attention of his companions, repeating the warning. It was a unanimous and silent decision that the four made, ended the show and went to see how Dom and the baby were.

Roger felt weak, so close to opening the bedroom door, but it was as if he doubted he was really ready for it. Brian caught his friend's apprehension, put his hand on his shoulder and said:

"We'll go with you." Brian sounded firm and sure.

"Thanks," Roger said softly.

He opened the door, entered, his friends followed him slowly, then.

"Dominique," he called with a big, thrilled smile.

"Hello," she said back.

Roger then approached, watching his son, contemplating the one he already loved so much for the first time.

"Hi, my boy," Taylor smiled. "Felix."

"Felix," Dominique confirmed, which made her husband happy.

"I was supposed to be with you, my love" Roger felt the need to apologize, all he least wanted was to lose that moment "that's because I insisted so much to stay near you these last months ..."

"Rog ..." Dominique was moved by him as she watched him caress her face "I better than anyone know how much you wanted to be here, no need to blame yourself for this, unforeseen happen, our baby just came a little more sooner than expected."

"And that's good, very good," Roger nodded and admired Felix again, unable to believe he was already there. "I couldn't wait to meet him. Dom, I'm a father ... This is so ..."

Roger cried, unable to express such emotion with words. He had never imagined how much he wanted to be a father and how happy he would be.

"He really is your son, Roger," Chrissie commented, seeing that the little boy looked a lot like his father.

"Of course he is" Roger left the tears to replace it with jokes "look at him, he's just lke me, beautiful as me and his mother, see Brian?"

"Didn't you forget that?" Brian replied annoyed, Roger had joked about him not being so handsome when the guitarist's son was born.

"Roger, you are officially a father now, you have to grow a little, okay?" John asked for more maturity.

"Yeah, you're going to leave the teenage jokes to make the jokes every dad makes," Freddie added.

The comment provoked laughter from everyone, which made even Felix smile. The smile was noticed by his parents, who were even happier to realize that their little boy already felt in family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dominique's French words for Felix means "my little one, I love you"


	34. Distraction

Roger could spend hours and hours admiring his son, it was amazing for him to believe he was the father of this bright and smart little boy.

"I know Felix is very cute, but just looking at him doesn't help much," Dominique tried to joke in a slightly acidic mood.

"Oh, sorry" Roger laughed realizing how absorbed he was "what do you want me to do? Bathe, play, change dirty diapers? I can take the stink, no problem."

"I know how helpful you are, but I appreciate it." Mrs. Taylor smiled "I just think ..."

She paused, feeling bad for betraying herself. Dom promised she wouldn't feel this way, that she would deal well with Roger's absence, as she always did when he was on tour, but now with Felix, everything was different.

It was with pleasure, love and care that she cared for her son, so happy to be a mother and Felix to be part of the family she was raising with Roger, but a baby required care, attention and love from his father and mother. Felix was only a month and a half old and already had to deal with his father's absence, not something Dominique wanted her son to go through. This time Roger would be much longer away working on the recordings of the new album in Paris.

"What do you think, Dom?" her husband asked, wanting her to answer but waiting patiently.

"I'll miss all that help when you're away," she confessed to what bothered her.

"I know, I don't like being away from you" he approached, hugging her and soon after taking his son on his lap "but I need to go, it's not just for me that I do it, it's for you, to provide the best for both of you."

"Of course and I understand, it's just the longing that is inevitable" she managed to smile "you won't forget to call, right?"

"No way!" Roger said flatly and kissed his wife's cheek. "Hey, I had an idea."

"What is it?" Dominique was curious.

"Let's go for a walk, just the three of us, some family time, to enjoy until I have to go," Roger suggested.

"Great, I loved it," she opined.

"There's only one condition," he objected, raising an index finger.

"Which would be?" Dominique gave a funny smile to him.

"Let's forget that I'm going to travel, let's think about it only in the day I go, okay?" he asked one more thing.

"Okay, that's a good condition," Dom agreed.

The family then strolled around the block, the couple talking about Felix, playing with him, but actually moving away from the subject of travel and recordings.

Eventually that day came, however difficult it was, Roger and Dominique bravely faced it.

"Don't forget about me, huh boy!" Roger grinned as he said goodbye to Felix.

"He won't, I'm sure," Dominique answered for the little boy, "and neither do you."

Roger looked at his wife, pretending to be hurt by her thinking that he would be able to forget them. He kissed her, showing all his love, clearing her doubts.

"I love you, Dom," he said, smiling.

"I love you too, have a good trip," she replied, seeing him walk away once more in her life.

She missed Roger, but being with Felix helped a lot, mother and son keeping each other company. Arriving in France, Queen and their staff followed the same pattern they did whenever they were on the road. They stayed at the hotel, recovering their energy, and only then, enjoying their free time even committed to performing the following night, whatever they wanted.

Paris was a bustling city at night and knowing that, Freddie decided to make the most of it, but as he was about to leave, he saw that it would be a lot more fun if he had a company. He knew that John and Brian would refuse, they were old-fashioned and square, too responsible for the kind of fun he was looking for. But Roger was always willing to be his fellow wingman.

"What do you say about going out, Rog?" said Freddie as he approached his friend, ready to leave.

"Not a bad idea," Roger answered promptly, as his restless personality was already feeling trapped in that hotel.

He got ready to leave and followed Freddie wherever he was willing to take him. They visited bars and nightclubs here and there, looking for something that didn't seem to be anywhere. Within these environments, it was difficult for Roger not to notice the women around him, occasionally his impulsiveness flirted here and there, but usually the girls only paid attention to the point of smiling back and then walked away.

Between those smiles, one or the other caught his attention, in a strong way, even too much. For a brief second, it crossed his mind to prolong his flirtations with the owners of those most prominent smiles, to use his own lips to cover those smiles. That was when Roger felt stunned, it was as if his neurons were being tied to each other, on an endless string of knots, that didn't let him think straight. He took a deep breath and searched for Freddie for some solution.

"Dude ..." Roger murmured to his friend, still unsure what to do, "don't you think we should go?"

"What? No, Rog, it's early for me, but if you want to go, feel free,” Freddie advised, without losing his excitement.

"Okay," was the least Roger could answer, feeling weak.

He decided to stay there, taking care of Freddie, in a role that was never his, but he knew it was the best thing to do. Until it was time to leave, Roger was silent in a reserved corner, still shocked by his own thoughts. He saw that shutting up was the best solution he could come up with.

In the midst of his reflection, another thought crossed his mind. Long before that trip, Paul Prenter had insulted Dominique in front of the band and all their associates, calling her a self-serving woman, of not knowing what awaited her to become the wife of a rock star. Without hesitation Roger stood and defended her, and so did he defended Felix, since for him Prenter's insult had also extended to his son.

Roger got more confused, it was like he was two people, torn between two opposite behaviors and surely that was totally wrong for him.


	35. Regret

Eventually, Freddie felt exhausted enough to admit that he needed to return to the hotel. Roger got up faster than expected, supporting his friend and leading him to a taxi. All they wanted at the end of that night, almost early in the morning, was a little sleep.

They went straight to their rooms and slept instantly. Despite his concerns and questions, Roger was able to disconnect and simply rest. He rested so much that he lost count of how many hours he had slept, still drowsy, struggled to sit up, ignoring the latent headache. Out of curiosity, he checked the clock beside the bedside table on the nightstand, it was almost one o'clock in the afternoon. Finally, he didn't mind his late breakfast, shrugged and dressed slowly, without hurrying or any other appointments, if he remembered correctly, they would only go to the studio later.

He ended up meeting John, Brian, Freddie and Chrissie for lunch, and it was clear that he and his friend were scolded by the rest of the group. Roger was so tired that he didn't even bother to reason with them, just replied with what justified his behavior himself: he and his companions were rock stars in the top of the world, it wouldn't hurt to enjoy it a little. But that opinion changed when Freddie pinned him a little more.

"You wanted to spend some extra time with some new girl friends you made, right?" teased Mercury with a mischievous smile.

Before Taylor could answer, he saw the disappointment on Chrissie's face, which didn't hesitate to get her attention.

"I just hope," said Mrs. May, firmly "that you don't forget that you have a little son and a wife waiting for you."

"I know, and I'd never forget them," Roger said wholeheartedly, looking into his friend's eyes. "I didn't do anything, Chrissie, really."

"Okay ..." was her answer, and that short answer made him begin to reflect.

He couldn't deny that he had wanted to be with other women the night before, and that was no doubt, betrayal. How could he do this to Dominique? She was perfect, wonderful, the one who touched his heart so deeply that he wanted to make her his wife. He had promised that he would change for her, that he wouldn't be carried away by the emotions and passions of the moment, but in the end, he had been a hypocrite. He was enjoying seeing the reaction of other girls to the charm he played on them. So angry with himself, he locked himself in the hotel room, punching himself in the head.

"What are you thinking, you jerk?!" he even shouted to himself, staring at his reflection in the mirror "you are weak, weak ... she doesn't deserve you, doesn't deserve you ..."

Roger collapsed to the floor, sitting there for a long time, just crying, unable to react to anything, just feeling like a miserable traitor. As he was slow to appear, his friends became concerned. Brian knew him well, and thought it best not to piss him off as he recovered from last night, but John thought it best to check anyway. Deaky knocked on the door, waiting for an answer, after he saw that the door was locked.

"Who is it? "Roger asked, John noticed his muffled and sad voice, very different from usual.

"It's John. Roger, may I come in?" Deaky was already starting to get worried.

"Okay, John, wait a minute." Taylor decided to get up, wiping his tears and trying to pull himself together.

It didn't work very well when Deacon stared at him for a moment, looking for a plausible reason for his friend to be that way.

"Roger, what happened? Man, you…” John restrained himself from making matters worse by saying what he had thought.

"I'm horrible? Maybe it's because I'm really horrible" Roger gave him a sarcastic smile "I finally found out how stupid I am."

"Look, I don't know what it was, but if you tell me, maybe I can help." John tried to be as gentle as possible.

"Okay, I ..." Taylor took a long breath "I went out with Freddie yesterday, and what he said ... about girls ... he's right."

"What do you mean, Roger? Did you stay with these girls?" Deaky really wanted that not to be the case.

"No, I swear to you no, John, I did everything not to give in to my impulses" Roger turned to him in despair "but as much as I did nothing, for a moment I wanted, I don't know What happened to me, I love Dominique, really! I was only weak, weak for that moment and ..."

"And I'm glad nothing else happened," John added, happy for the attitude his friend took. "I believe you, you did nothing but flirt, I know you. But if you felt temptation, you gotta be stronger, man, live up to the love you feel for your wife and your son, you must and can be better, Roger Taylor, I know that, fight this weakness because you're much bigger than it, do you understand?"

"Yes, John, I get it." Roger still sounded disheartened, feeling his guilt still resonating in his mind and heart, but Deaky was right.

He hadn't yet made an immediate fatal mistake, still had time to correct himself and prevent it from happening long before it happened. John left him alone, trusting that soon he would recover, that he would need another moment alone to think, to reflect on all he had heard.

Roger stood up, washing his face, deciding to be quite different from now on. It was all up to him, to live up to what he had promised his wife, not to be carried away by passing emotions, not to be like his father had been a while ago. Still shaking, he remembered to check the time zone, seeing if Dominique and Felix weren't sleeping. He then called home, hoping to talk to his wife.

"Hello?" answered Mrs. Taylor, wondering what was happening on the silenced other end of the line "hello? It's Dominique, is there anything I can help with?"

"Dom..." Roger sighed, sobbing.

"Roger? My love, is that you? Are you okay?" she heard his low voice.

"I am, yes, I called because ..." He hesitated, trying to make the best of his time, trying to find words to explain "I love you, okay? I love you so much, I love you and I will always love you."

"I know, Roger, I love you all these times too," she smiled, "but are you all right?"

"I'm better now, I just needed to hear you" he confessed "look, give Felix a kiss for me, I love our little boy too."

"Fine, I'll do it when he wakes up," Dominique agreed, seeing that her husband was in trouble, but thought better not to press him.

"Okay, I have to go now, I love you," Roger repeated, so she wouldn't have any doubts.

"Bye, good job, I love you too," she confirmed.

Only then did Roger feel the relief he needed to be able to hang up the phone and spend the day working.


	36. Remade Promises

Roger's calls became more and more constant, not that they weren't, but it seemed that every moment he had free, he used it to call Dominique. She was happy, of course, the gesture helped her to deal with her husband's absence much better. However, she began to suspect a reason why he was feeling so ... needy, it seemed to be a much bigger issue than longing.

The answer that Dominique was trying to find came in a not too delicate way. Occasionally she came across news in magazines and newspapers about Queen, that was normal, they were a famous band, and as expected, some of that information was quite biased. Even so, reading that her husband along with friends had irresponsible fun left her shaken. She came across a more specific article, describing a night of fun for Roger and Freddie that seemed very unlikely at first, but deep down, Dominique's cunning ended up associating her husband's recent exaggerated attachment to his nocturnal habits, which seemed to have returned.

The article said that the drummer had been seen in the company of different women, and only that phrase was able to upset Dominique. She trusted him, knew him very well, knew that everything he had promised her was true, but now, it was hard to believe that he had betrayed her and was feeling remorse.

It was inevitable not to cry when thinking about the possibility, in the midst of sadness, it was difficult to understand that there was still hope and possibility that all this was a lie, or that perhaps Roger was in that bar and had done nothing. Taking a deep breath, she composed herself, if he wanted to leave her for another, she wouldn't hold him, she would just like to have the proper explanations and be treated with dignity. I wouldn't bring it up with him, if he was worthy enough, Roger would have the courage to look her in the eye and tell the truth, it was the least he expected.

So Queen's stay in France was over and Roger's return was crucial for this dubious situation to be resolved. Dominique was affectionate and loving to him, after all, she still loved him and missed him all this time, and really, he was giving these feelings back to the fullest.

However, they both felt the dark atmosphere just before going to sleep, three days after Roger had arrived. He was using all this time to decide what to do, in fact, there wasn't much to think about. Being true wasn't an option, it was a duty, all he had to do was build up courage.

"I need to talk to you" he started the matter, drawing all her attention to himself, Dominique prepared for the worst.

"Tell me, and please don't lie to me" she said seriously, which made Roger even more afraid, but it was too late to back off.

"Okay, I'm not going to lie" he declared "but I'm also counting on your trust in me."

"Right" Dominique replied, starting to give in a little, he wouldn't ask for such a favor if he were going to lie.

"I went through a very confusing moment in Paris" he said "it all started when I agreed to go out with Freddie at night, and I confess, I flirted with some girls here and there, and unfortunately, I am very ashamed to say this, for a brief moment I thought about staying with them, but it was nothing like that. When I realized what I wanted, I was quiet in a corner until Freddie decided to leave. We went back to the hotel and I felt like the worst human being, a wretch who never really deserved you. John saw me crying and shaken and told me to be better than that, so this is me, trying to be better, I just ..."

Unable to say anything else, Roger collapsed on his knees on the floor, leaning at Dominique's feet, crying uncontrollably, it was a situation so full of panic that she didn't know how to react. He had taken pity on her husband as soon as he had called himself wretch and now, humbling himself in that way, had broken her heart.

Slowly, she knelt in front of him, trying to hold his face, Roger pulled away a little, not finding himself worthy of her touch, but in the end, she insisted, with a serene expression on her face. Dominique desolated even more to see the beautiful face of her beloved all red and swollen.

"Are you telling me that you haven't slept with any other woman, except me, since we met?" She said slowly, needing one last and sincere confirmation.

"Yes, yes, I mean, no, no" he was very confused and upset "I haven't had any other than you since we met, and I don't want anyone else but you."

No lie was noticed by Dominique, so she just hugged him, Roger let himself be cuddled by his wife, crying on her lap, with his arms around her, holding her without wanting to let go.

"I believe in you, I really do" she murmured "you regretted what you thought and you didn't even go further, that says enough, you remained faithful to me."

"I only believe it because you're telling me" he confessed, which made her hug him tighter.

Words were a vain resource at that moment, which assured the two that their union was firm and standing was the feeling perceived by each other. All the tears and hugs showed that Roger would really be different from now on and that Dominique would no longer have to worry about his lack of loyalty. This broken and sorry man loved her too much to the point of reaching a depressing state just by thinking of hurting her.

For Dominique, her marriage was now safe, so that nothing else could shake it. In the face of so much love, she only had to kiss her husband, showing that despite everything, she also loved him too much.

"I trust you and I love you too, very, very much" she looked into his eyes, speaking with all conviction.

"I love you too" Roger hugged her again, thankful that she forgave him.

Being part of Dominique's life was the greatest privilege he had ever lived, and now, even more, he would honor that gift.


	37. Taking care of a child

After everything was settled and understood, the life of Dominique and Roger seemed to become more wonderful. It was clear that for them, that was a certainty, even with some obstacles and the run from everyday life, but it didn't matter. They were together and happy, helping each other.

When Dominique needed help the most was when her maternity leave ended and she was supposed to get back to work. Her heart was sad when she thought she would leave her little Felix, who was now over a year old, alone at home, in the hands of a stranger.

"It's going to be difficult to find someone to take care of Felix" she pondered Roger "I don't want to give your mother or Clare a hard time, in fact, your sister works too, well, we only have nursery as option."

"But you don't like that idea either" Roger realized "why?"

"Because ... Because ..." Dominique hesitated, a little embarrassed "well, it's like a baby school and I think he's too young to go to school, I don't even want to think when he has to go to school anyway , no, not that idea."

"So, we'll have to find a nanny" he shrugged "that's what you can do and I think it's better, Felix won't need to leave the house."

"Okay, it's the solution that remains, so we just need to find someone we can trust" Dom said confidently, but inside she knew it would be much more difficult.

She had an idea for her search, decided to visit her work, there was a group of people working in the building where Branson's office was located, and she hoped that among these people, there would be someone who knew a responsible and reliable nanny.

Going there, Dominique brought Felix with her and the little boy was very excited to see so many different people.

"Did you like it, my love? This is where Mommy works,” she explained as he looked at everything.

With each one that spoke to him, Felix smiled in response, eliciting praise like "cute" and "adorable" wherever he stopped. It was then that among these people, someone stopped to speak to his mother.

"Ms. Beyrand? I mean, Mrs. Taylor" the man corrected himself, but Dominique didn't care about the mistake "it's good to see you."

"Likewise, Stephen, how are you?" she greeted Stephen Kimmer, who always worked as a roadie in productions organized by Branson.

"I'm fine, and this is your boy? How big he is!" Stephen observed Felix, who smiled at him without fail.

"Yes, say hi to Stephen, son" Dom prompted him to speak.

"Hi ..." stammered the boy, still learning to speak.

"He's really cute, congratulations" praised the roadie "oh ma'am, you're looking for a nanny, aren't you? My daughter Charlotte has experience, if you want to talk to her, she would be interested."

"Really? Well, I would need to interview her, my husband and I, but give me her contact phone" Dominique decided, writing down the number.

She thanked and said goodbye to Stephen, returning home, informing Roger about Charlotte. Together they decided to give the girl a chance, hoping she would be responsible and reliable. At the appointed time, Charlotte showed up at the Taylors' house, impressed by the size of the place.

"Welcome, Miss. Kimmer" Dominique received her, pointing to the sofa for her to sit.

"Hi, Mrs. Taylor" she replied, sympathetically.

"So young lady, let's get to the main topic" Roger sounded a little intimidating on purpose "do you have experience in taking care of children?"

"Yes, sir, I ..." Charlotte was saying, but Roger interrupted her again.

"And if my son gets hurt, do you know how to care of a hurt child?" he continued.

"Yes, yes, but I wouldn't let that happen, I know you have to keep an eye on the children all the time" the nanny justified herself quickly.

"Good answer, girl, I think you have a good chance of working for us" Roger crossed his arms.

"That's cool, just ignore him, Charlotte" Dominique gestured indifferently "I just want to ask you to be careful, attentive and responsible, Felix is our greatest treasure and I am entrusting him to you."

"Don't worry, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, I'll do my best,” Charlotte promised.

Luckily for the family, Felix became very attached to Charlie, as her nickname was, and the two got along very well, which was a relief to the boy's parents. They worked calmly knowing that Felix was fine, but when they got home, they played with him to the fullest, making him run and laugh.

With a little more free time, Felix's parents took him to visit his uncles and aunts frequently. The Mays were very happy to receive them, since Jimmy and Felix were almost the same age.

Dominique and Roger thought it was beautiful how Felix shared toys with Jimmy, invented games and his friend followed him without hesitation, both having a great time. She thought how good it was for her son to have a little friend to play with, he already thought of something more than that.

They said goodbye to the Mays that day, thanking them for their time together and the constant friendship of Chrissie and Brian, which now stretched between Jimmy and Felix.

The next day, waiting for his wife to come home from work, Roger brought up the subject of the idea he had been thinking about for the past few hours. Dominique came and kissed him, gave their son a big hug and then placed him between the two.

"What's up? Everything okay here?" she started talking.

"Yes, all is fine, but Dom, I wanted to say something to you" Roger proposed.

"Okay, what is it, honey?" she waited.

"You saw yesterday how Jimmy and Felix were playing? Wasn't Felix so happy?" he pointed out.

"Yes, it was good that he had a little friend to play with" she agreed.

"And if in fact, he always had a little friend to play with, a little brother, maybe?" Roger released his will, but then looked down in fear of his wife's reaction.

"What? Roger!" really Dominique had been scared, without waiting for it even for a bit "are you saying that ... Do you want to have more children?"

-"Well, yes, but only if you want to, or if you wait a little longer, you're in charge" he added, a little regretful.

"Look Rog, I think, we just got used to taking care of a child, to be a real father and mother" she said "I was a little scared, but another child is not a bad idea, maybe, if we wait any longer for some months."

"Okay, I understand you" he smiled, satisfied.

"And I love you, for wanting a family" she replied, smiling.

"With you and you" he looked at Felix too "is what I will always want."

So the Taylors had an agreement. Receiving yet another member of their family required planning and patience, which they would do from now on, continuing to care for Felix as well.


	38. An early surprise

Back at Branson's office, everything was as busy as Dominique remembered. Despite fatigue and work, she admitted that she had missed it, everything was organized as her replacement secretary had left, but she rearranged everything, leaving it the way she was used to.

After taking a walk around the city, looking for things for work, while assisting the advice of a band, she began to wonder if she could stop by at home, just to see how Felix was doing. Realizing this, Dominique saw that it wouldn't be easy to get used to leaving her son at home without even missing him. Still, with a broken heart, she decided to streamline her negotiations and get the job done.

Back in the office, on top of Mrs. Taylor's desk, in the picture frame, was a picture of her with Roger and Felix, the boy was smiling as always, looking ahead. When Dominique arrived and admired the portrait, it was as if her son was looking directly at her.

"I know you're fine, maybe it's time for Mom to grow up and understand this" she murmured, hoping that no one would listen and that it would comfort her.

Felix, as his mother had predicted, was really well, much better than she could have imagined.

Roger was at home that day, there wasn't much work for him until Queen started promoting their new album and for that reason, he was enjoying this time with Felix. The boy was the one who was practically running everything, his father asked what he wanted to play with and Roger practically allowed him.

Since Felix had gotten up, played in the pool, with his father holding him at all times, Roger knew about the risks and was careful all the time so that the boy wouldn't drown. When Felix got tired, he went into the house all wet, running nonstop, and that's when his father really was a little more afraid.

-"ey, Felix, don't run, you can get hurt!" he warned and thankfully that his son listened to him.

He was obedient and stopped, waiting for his father to dry him and help him get dressed. Then Felix returned to the yard, running again, but this time, with shoes and with his father playing with him, trying to catch him. Roger let him run in circles without stopping until he caught him and lifted him up in the air. Apparently, the father managed to do this calmly, but he felt a little back pain.

"Seriously, I'm not that old ..." he complained loudly.

"Old ..." Felix repeated, trying to understand why his father used that word.

"No, my love, don't call me that, Uncle Freddie is the old man ..." Roger corrected, but Felix just remained confused.

By Roger's count, lunchtime arrived and he, fearing a little, went to turn around in the kitchen. Even though he had overcome his clumsiness, cooking alone still caused the drummer to feel insecure, but someone as fearless as he wouldn't let the pots and the stove intimidate him.

He put Felix in the car seat and started making sandwiches. He didn't take much chances on the spices and kept a safe distance from the pan. Finally, Felix looked at his father's work before thinking about eating.

"What's up, champion? Won't you taste it a bit?" asked his father, already chewing on his own sandwich.

"Is it good?" the boy still had doubts.

"Yes, I guarantee that this one is much better than the last one, just try it" Roger nodded several times, encouraging him to eat.

His son then reacted, like most children, he smashed his sandwich, but ended up eating anyway. His father smiled with pride.

A while later, Roger put Felix to sleep, in the least orthodox way possible. According to him, this always worked, so it wasn't because others thought it strange that he would abandon his unique method.

"Okay, Felix, bedtime" announced the father.

"Yay!" celebrated the boy.

His father put him in the cart, he settled down, lying down, but keeping his eyes wide open.

"Are you ready, champion?" Roger asked, positioning himself behind the cart, holding the bar.

"Uh huh" Felix replied.

"So there we go!" announced the father, pushing the cart down the hall.

He went and came back, until he got tired, it was lucky that Felix got tired too. When he was almost asleep, his father took him out of the stroller and put him in the crib, leaning over there, waiting until his son was completely asleep.

"Sweet dreams, my boy, I love you ..." Roger murmured and closed the bedroom door, letting his son rest.

When he left, he started to tidy up the kitchen mess that had been left behind. What interrupted him was the phone ringing and he ran to answer it.

"Hello, Roger Taylor speaking" he answered.

"Rog, it's me, I didn't want to give you trouble, but I'm not doing very well" Dominique called, sounding distressed.

"What's it? What are you feeling?" he asked, worried.

"Just a dizziness, and a little nausea, it's nothing at all, it's a simple thing, but I'm a little dizzy to go home alone" she confessed.

"Oh, I would even pick you up, but Felix just slept, do you think you can get a cab?" Roger thought quickly "so you come home faster and at least rest here until we can go to a hospital."

"So, Roger, well ..." she hesitated, wanting to tell more about what she had been thinking since she realized her discomfort.

"Just come home, then we talk, it's fine, okay? I love you" he recommended.

"Ok, see you later, I love you too" she sighed.

Getting to her feet, Dominique did as her husband asked. He called the cab, but reversed the route home to answer a question. She went to a pharmacy, buying a medicine for nausea, which she took immediately, then bought a pregnancy test.

Roger thought his wife was taking too long, even waiting for her in front of the house. When he saw the cab in the distance, he ran to help her, but she was fine, much better than she seemed on the phone.

"What happened? You look much better" he asked, after they entered the house.

"Well, because I had a vague idea of why I got sick" she explained, unable to contain a smile on her lips "I thought it was a simple tiredness to go back to work after so long, but ..."

"But what, Dominique? Please tell me soon" he was on the verge of despair, but even so, his wife couldn't help laughing, it was a mixture of reaction to him plus the joy she was feeling.

"Your wish came true, husband" she said "I got sick because of your child, who is not Felix."

"What? But you ... This is great! Are you sure?" Roger understood, touching her face with both hands.

"I am, and I'm really happy, really" Dominique cried a little, with joy.

"Me too" Roger hugged her.

It was great news, everything would change once again in the Taylors' life, but as they were always believing now, it was changes for the better, that would make their lives even more wonderful.


	39. A long process

When Dominique's family received her news in Paris, they could hardly believe it. Perhaps Mrs. Beyrand thought it was a little early for her daughter to have another baby when the first was just over 2 years old, but knowing Dominique well, and of course, Roger, who was a very dedicated father, she believed that everything would go well. Françoise wanted to visit her sister immediately, to hug her in person and see her nephew, but at the moment, she couldn't do that, she was busy with work, but promised that she and her mother would come to London to meet Dominique's new baby. as soon as he was born.

It was unbelievable for Clare and Winifred too, there was more proof that Roger was indeed a changed man for the better. To share the news with their friends, the Taylor couple split up. At a Queen meeting, when Jim Beach was already wrapping up, he asked if anyone had anything else to add.

"Well, since you asked, Jim, I think I do, thank you for creating this opportunity" Roger said, all full of charm.

"Wait, don't tell me you're done something again, what are you up to, Roger?" Brian got up and said at once, to everyone's surprise, including his wife, who considered asking him to sit down.

"Brian, relax, seriously, it offends me that you always think the worst of me," Taylor countered.

"Yeah, Bri, give the blondie a little credit, I have a feeling it's a very good thing" John defended his friend.

"If you think so, I'm obliged to agree" Brian crossed his arms, accepting the option of a good thing.

"Well, now that you finally let me talk, I want to tell you that Dom is pregnant again and we are going to have another baby" Roger announced with all the pride in the world.

His friends hugged him, relieved and surprised, happy for the Taylor family. Dominique, on the other hand, brought the news to the Queen Girls when she and Chrissie visited Veronica once.

"I'm expecting another baby, girls" she said without ceremony, knowing how happy they would be, and Mrs. Taylor was right when she received hugs from Veronica and Chrissie.

"Roger told us at the meeting earlier in the week, congratulations, Dom" smiled Mrs. May.

"That's wonderful, Dominique, welcome to the club of mothers of two children" joked Mrs. Deacon.

"Ah very well remembered" pointed out Dom "how will it be now? Tell me, you must know, since you have experience in this."

"A little more difficult and arduous, work for two basically, but no less rewarding" guaranteed Ronnie, with pride "you know, Felix is already very independent and Roger helps you a lot, so everything will be fine."

"And don't forget that we are also here to help you" offered Chrissie gently.

"I know and thank you for that, you are a sweetheart" Dominique looked with gratitude at her friends.

"I think now Chrissie just needs to have another baby and our club of mothers of two children will be complete" Veronica took the opportunity to joke.

"What? Oh no, none of that Mrs. Deacon, Brian and I haven't discussed this and I'm still learning to be Jimmy's mom, okay?" Chrissie justified herself.

No matter how insecure Christine was, she and Veronica were two of the best maternal figures that Dominique knew and were great examples for her.

With all this excitement among the adults around him, Felix himself, even at a young age, noticed something different between his parents, their joy, but also their plans.

"He's kind of curious, Felix, you know?" Dominique brought the matter up to her husband one night.

"Yes, looking at us, trying to understand things, is part of his growth" Roger commented.

"It's like he knows what's going on, and I know he understands" she added "but I think it would be better to talk to him, tell him in a way that he can understand."

"Maybe he doesn't understand what it's like to have a little sibling, but it's fair to tell him" he decided on the subject.

Then, the next day, they sat with Felix, standing in front of him, and the boy waited to see what his parents would say.

"Felix, we wanted to tell you that soon Mom and Dad will have another baby" Dominique warned, sweetly.

"Another baby? Baby like me?" he asked.

"Yeah, a baby like you, but smaller than you" Roger tried to explain "we will both be his father and mother too."

"Is it my brother?" Felix seemed to understand, remembering his aunt Clare and his aunt Fran, sisters of his father and mother.

"Yes, yes, very well, my love" Dominique kissed her son's cheek, even though he partially understood.

The changes started to make more sense for Felix when he noticed his mother more present at home, and her belly started to get bigger and bigger every time he saw her. At this point, his mother could no longer hold him, and the little boy didn't understand why, but even so, she never stopped hugging him, kissing him, or putting him to sleep.

Dominique and Roger started to think of names together, and after he just said boy names, she came up with a question that scared him more than expected.

"What if it's a girl?" said Dominique naturally.

"No!" was Roger's panic response.

"What do you mean, no? It may well be a girl,” she insisted.

"I know, but I'm hoping it isn't" he was sincere.

"But why?" Dominique was startled, trying to think of a plausible reason.

"Imagine our little girl, a beautiful little girl, who will undoubtedly have our beauty" Roger started a narrative and Dominique rolled her eyes at that point -"and then, on a beautiful day, this puberty will do its evil tricks and she will become a stunning teenager and what will it cause? A lot of boys on her tail and what the heck! One of them managed to seduce her and she started dating very early, and with the wrong guy, like a guy like ... A guy I know very well ..."

"You mean a guy like you used to be?" Mrs. Taylor gave him an amused smile.

"Yeah, I'm not proud of that, but that's it" he confessed.

"I think none of this will happen with all this exaggeration, there will come a time when our daughter will grow up and we will just have to accept it" she faced the facts.

"I don't know how you can accept it so easily," Roger sighed.

"Simple, it's life ..." she shrugged "but if it's really a girl, I like the name Eleanor.'

"It's beautiful, kind of old, but beautiful" Roger said "if it's a boy, I like the name Rory."

"Rory, I liked it" said Dominique.

For now, they had just decided on their name, but hoped that the experiences with Felix would help them take care of the new baby, whether it was a boy or a girl.


	40. Meeting Rory

On yet another day at work for Roger, all that remained for Dominique was to stay home, take care of Felix and wait anxiously for the birth of her second baby. The expected date of birth was getting closer and closer, and even so, everything else was taking its course.

Roger and the boys were starting to sketch a new album. "Jazz" had been their last release, somewhat criticized, but nothing affected Queen and their creativity, making them produce even more.

So Roger had breakfast with his family and said goodbye to his wife and son on his way to work.

"Say goodbye to daddy, son!" Dominique held Felix's hand, the two watched Roger leave.

"Bye, Daddy!" said the boy excitedly, waving.

Roger smiled at that and turned, getting in the car and driving to the studio. Dominique and Felix went back inside, they occupied themselves with a little television and magazines, until she felt a pain that was already her old acquaintance, a contraction. This meant that she had a few minutes to organize and be in the hospital when her child was ready to come into the world.

"Felix, listen to mom, let's go over to Aunt Chrissie's now, okay?" she warned, trying to stay calm and not frighten her son.

"Aham" replied the boy, not knowing the gravity of what would happen to his mother.

Dominique quickly called Chrissie, saying that she would leave Felix with her, until Roger could go and get him. Mrs. May was at home, looking after her young son too, waiting for her friend.

"Sorry about the rush, Chrissie, but I can't waste any time," explained Mrs. Taylor in sighs.

"Of course, I understand you Dom" Chrissie was already holding Felix on her lap, while her friend tried to keep her breath "are you sure you can drive?"

"I am, don't worry about me, the interval is still long, just take care of my boy" Dominique recommended.

"I'm on it, everything will be fine" Chrissie hugged her with one arm, still holding Felix.

!Thanks, bye Felix" his mother gave him a kiss on the cheek and took her way.

Part of Dominique, in the face of such a complicated situation, wished that Roger had a job that didn't take up so much time and let him be with her at that important moment, but it wasn't the time for that, she was sure that soon, soon he would be by her side.

It was only when she was admitted to the hospital that the local staff informed Roger that his wife had entered the operating room. All the effort, tears, apprehension, but Dominique's courage were rewarded when she heard her child's cry, it had been louder than Felix's, and it had put her on alert. Was that a good or a bad sign?

"Mrs. Taylor, congratulations, it's a girl!" Said the doctor and Dominique ended up laughing.

The nurses and the doctor around her didn't quite understand her reaction, but just thinking about how her husband would react to being the father of a girl, made her want to laugh.

Dom set eyes on her little girl, she was beautiful, just as her father had predicted. She had pink skin, plump cheeks, a round nose and beautiful blue eyes. She had a few strands of light hair, she looked a lot like Dominique.

"Hi, I hope you like Eleanor, it was the name I chose for you ..." the mother talked to her daughter.

A moment later, Dominique didn't mind being interrupted by Roger, she smiled in relief when she saw him. He kissed her forehead before saying anything.

"I came as soon as I could" said Roger quietly.

"She was just born, we have a girl, Roger" said Dominique, glad for that.

"Oh heavens, you were right all the time, I am the father of a girl!" Roger exclaimed, trying to deal with this change in his life.

He looked down at his daughter, stretching his arms slowly, asking in silence to hold her.

"Hi, little one, hi ..." he whispered "we are still thinking of a name, but look, my little angel, I think you look like a Rory."

"What?" Dominique said, a little confused "are you sure?"

"I think it suits her" insisted Roger "as much as it is a boy's name, it sounds like a female name in other languages, like French, for example."

"You are very persuasive" Domi shook her head "okay then, she'll be Rory Eleanor Taylor."

"Perfect, I loved it" agreed Roger "you are our Rory ..."

He carefully lifted his little girl, kissing her cheek, but instead of her laughing, as her father expected, she ended up crying.

"It looks like she wants mommy," Dominique indicated and Roger returned their daughter to her, Rory soon calmed down.

Roger's jealousy over that went away pretty quickly. He left his girls for a while and, returning to the reception, found his old friends waiting for him.

"Come on, guys, I want you to meet Rory" he invited and everyone came in after him.

Roger watched the baby a little way in the distance, while everyone congratulated Dominique and admired their little girl.

"So ... I am the father of a girl" he said aloud, again, very amazed "you wanted this so much and here we are."

"And you have reason to worry, she is beautiful and certainly draws attention" Freddie remembered how much they joked about Roger being the father of a girl "and I'm not saying that just to flatter you, it's because it's true."

"After that, I don't know if I appreciate the compliment or I'm even more scared," Roger confessed.

"Roger, stop suffering in anticipation" Dominique called his attention, to look at the situation in a more positive way "she will still be your little girl before she grows up, and I really hope she doesn't go around breaking hearts, if it depends on me, she won't be like that."

"Now you're anticipating things, Dom" Roger pointed out.

"You started this nonsense" she countered, and looked at her daughter, smiling "get used to it, Rory, get used to it..."

Little Miss. Taylor might have been dealing a bit of an exaggeration from her family, but their love and concern for her was just right.


	41. Little Siblings

Felix was playing with Jimmy, until his aunt Chrissie ran by, going to answer that funny noise from the talking machine called phone. It was another strange thing that had happened that day for the boy, as soon as his aunt got him and his friend ready and they went to the hospital. The first strange thing that had happened to Felix that day was that his mother had to run, he still didn't understand the reason for that.

In that strange place called the hospital, little Taylor was happy to find familiar faces, Uncle John, Uncle Freddie, Aunt Ronnie and Uncle Brian were there, and of course his father. His mother was also looking very tired, but even so, Dominique smiled when she saw her son again, Felix returned the affection for a moment, but soon after, he exchanged the smile for a face of confusion, watching the baby on his mother's lap.

"Come closer, my love" Dominique invited and her son trusted her "remember that we talked to you, that we said that mom and dad would have a baby? Here she is, this is your little sister Rory."

"Rory?" Felix hesitated, starting to associate the name with the baby in front of him.

"Yes, say hi to her" Roger approached, waiting to see what Felix would do.

Then, moved by his curiosity and his parents' light pressure, he watched Rory's pink face. She was really cute and small, and her older brother couldn't resist smiling at her, in which the baby smiled back, which made the parents of the two siblings very happy.

A short while later, the Taylors were back home, and the three residents of the house began to adapt to the new family member. Rory could cry a lot at night, which bothered Felix at first, he didn't understand why his little sister cried so much to sleep. His father explained that it was her way of asking for things or saying that she was scared, since she couldn't speak, and so things started to make more sense to Felix.

When his sister was about 3 months old, the boy was finally able to pick her up a little, sitting still and Rory seemed to like her brother, she was calm and even laughed at times, and this created a great bond between the two of them.

Time passed and soon Rory was running around the house too, looking much faster than Felix, which made Roger, Dominique and Charlie a little tired too. One of the things that little girl Taylor had to get used to was with a little bit of her father's absence, lately Roger has been very busy, a lot of decisions about Queen's new album were being made, plus the constant recordings and re-recordings, which did the father spending less time with his children, which was why it seemed that Rory had become very attached to her father. It was unanimous how much she made sure to stay on his lap as long as possible when he was at home.

"It's okay Rory" repeated Roger "no matter how much I leave, I'll always come back, I promise."

She tried to believe his promises, while her mother had a better idea of this.

"You know, Rog, it's not just Rory who misses you, Felix too, so ..." she formulated the request "do you think it would be a problem if we went to visit you in the studio, at least once?"

"No, no problem, my love, you can watch the recordings and in the intervals I keep you company, I will love it if you go" Roger agreed with the idea, kissing his wife's cheek and showing his joy for it.

So Dominique got the children ready on a beautiful afternoon and they went together to see the work of dad and uncles. It turned out that Felix and Rory were distracted by Jimmy May, who was also accompanying his mother, and played a lot without disturbing anything. While her children were distracted, Dominique herself was distracted by something else.

It was interesting to see the boys recording, in their creative process, creating, changing, accepting suggestions and giving opinions, perfecting something until it reached its best. That was one of the main characteristics of Queen that made Dominique appreciate the band, before anything. But suddenly, she found herself focused on the producer's work, listening to the musicians' instructions, talking to them, helping with the creative process, controlling the editing part, touching all those buttons on the soundboard that looked like something from another world that only the producer understood. It was really fascinating for Dom.

She was awakened from her thoughts when Roger came out of the recording booth, with a huge smile, giving his wife a big kiss without caring about his audience of friends. Felix was faster than his sister, as soon as he noticed his father, he came running to him and Rory, noticing the movement, went after them.

"Ah how wonderful to have you here! How are my little angels behaving?" he asked the children.

"Good, good" Felix stated and Rory just smiled.

"That's great, this is very amusing" the father praised.

"Oh come on, you are the one who calls them to mess up around" Dominique joked "so, are you finishing?"

"Yes, for today we made some progress, you know how complicated it's to record and mix everything, but this one is more relaxed" Roger replied.

"That's great, I'm happy for your progress" she smiled proudly.

Roger ended up using the rest of the rest time to sit with the children, placing each one on his legs, and they snuggled up to their father's chest. They stayed quiet enough until Roger's restless mind had another idea.

Asking for permission from Reid and the producer, he placed Felix on his lap and let him play the drums, guiding the boy's hands as they held the sticks together. Felix was fascinated with that, how the sound responded to his movements. When he was already excited about all that, Roger decided it was Rory's turn.

She was a little confused as she faced the drums and cymbals in front of her, and when her father hit it all too quickly, the little girl was startled.

"No, no, calm down, calm down" Roger despaired a little, getting up and trying to calm her down "it's okay not to like the drums, Dad didn't know."

Rory saw the instrument as ugly, but looked more understandingly at her father, who had been surprised by her reaction. Still, as always, Roger understood his daughter's peculiar way.


	42. A new profession

Rory continued to grow and the time passed, suddenly, to the surprise of her family, she was already babbling her first words, Mom, Dad and "Felis", as she called her little brother. So, with the little girl in the house a little older, it was time for her mother to go back to work, her maternity leave was over.

Just before that, Dominique had thought hard about whether it was really worth returning to the post of secretary and assistant. Not that she hated the job, as always, she was grateful to have got it at the time she needed it most, and to be able to do it well. Besides, she was very fond of Mr. Branson and if she weren't his assistant, she would never met Roger and they wouldn't have the life they were leading now, the life Dominique loved.

But even so, after everything so stable and stabilized, with her children growing up and Roger continuing his career more and more consecrated, Dominique thought a little about herself, how good it would be to try something different and really, she wanted to invest in the music business, behind the scenes. When she felt decided about it, she talked to Roger, telling him what she would like to do from now on.

"I always wanted to try a profession in the music business, not as an artist, but more, as a producer, working on the real artistic details, not only setting schedules here and there " she said "and well, I think it's time to try this arrived and I signed up for a production stage, I will start soon."

"Okay, no problem" he replied, surprised, once again his wife had absolutely everything under control "if that's what you want, rock it out, gorgeous!"

She laughed at the way he called her, he hugged her and kissed her cheek, supporting her completely. Thus, Dominique reorganized herself once again in her life, one of her most outstanding skills, learning to leave her children in Charlie's attentive care and learning a new profession. She visited Trident Studios every day, on time, observing the work of the producer and making her own notes. Some of them made the kindness to teach her a little more than others. And in that way, she became able to be a music producer.

On weekends, Rory and Felix enjoyed their parents' company, playing the four together. On one occasion, Roger wasn't satisfied with Rory's first reaction to the drums and had other ideas for his daughter to like the instrument. Dominique couldn't contain him, she just watched her husband walking back and forth, bringing more and more pots from the kitchen to the living room.

"If this is an experiment for the next album I don't want to know, just try to fix everything when it's finished" demanded Mrs. Taylor, in which Roger just nodded.

He offered drumsticks to his children, and Felix started the game, unceremoniously, just hitting everything, and Rory, like all youngest, wanted to imitate his older brother. This time, she was in complete control of what she was doing, finding her own favorite rhythm, which made her father happy and proud.

Both Roger and Dominique were looking for a little rest now, he had just done Queen's last tour with his teammates, promoting "The Game" and she was looking for a job as a music producer. All the couple needed was a quiet night, only that their desire was interrupted by a phone call, just when their little ones were already falling asleep.

Dominique watched Felix sleep, while Roger passed Rory onto his wife's lap and went down the stairs, going to see who called at that hour.

"Roger, it's me, are you up for a party?" Freddie's suggestive voice came from the other side.

"Party? Now?" Roger was tempted by the idea, he loved a good stir, even though he is more responsible now "Well, it's not what was in the plans, but partying is never a bad thing, just let me check with Dom what she thinks, but I think it's almost certainly for us to go, so I'll see you in a bit."

"I better come, Taylor, see you soon" Freddie hung up, going to check details of the party.

The invitation had really excited Roger, he just waited to see what Dominique would think.

"Who was it?" she asked in a whisper, leaving Rory's room.

"Freddie, he's having a party now, and he asked us to go, so shall we go?" he tried.

"A party ... Well, we haven't been out together for a while, I think it will be a good idea" Dominique ended up accepting.

They got ready, waited for Charlie to arrive and went to Garden Lodge. The place started to fill up little by little, and they were happy to be one of the first to arrive, since the seats in the house would soon be all occupied. Freddie wasn't in sight of them, but they were already used to that kind of attitude.

"Yeah, Roger, that's not what I was thinking, but that's okay, since we're here ..." Dominique shrugged, slightly annoyed.

"What's it? What's wrong?" He leaned closer to her, trying to understand her.

"I came here to see Freddie too, and deep down, I thought it would be just our friends who would be here, but I should expect that, you said party, and this is what our friend defines by party" she elaborated a little more.

"Yeah, you know how he is" Roger ended up conforming too.

The rest of the night added to Dominique's discomfort. Of course, there were pleasant moments, as the Mays and the Deacons arrived, and the three couples kept each other company. But Freddie made an unpleasant comment, which left her shaken, he had accused Roger of continuing to be constantly unfaithful. She knew it wasn't true, that her old friend wasn't exactly in his right mind and that he was just kidding, yet it didn't hurt any less.

To her luck and relief, her beloved husband made the right decision to leave that place that has become increasingly hellish. Brian, Chrissie, John and Veronica followed them outside shortly thereafter, and Mrs. Taylor found that her other friends shared her idea. Sometimes, because he was experiencing great inner pain and didn't find other ways to deal with it, Freddie exaggerated what he said and what he did. It just kept worrying his real friends for a long time, including Roger and Dominique Taylor.


	43. A special note

Rory had woken up a little dazed in the morning. It seemed that suddenly the house was too quiet. Even alone, she wasn't afraid to check what was going on, she needed to know the reason for all that silence. With her little feet, she reached the door to her brother's room, which was closed. She didn't let herself get down, she bent down and looked through the crack under the door. Felix was sleeping too. Suddenly, Rory saw an adult approaching, ran off, thinking it might be her father, but she met her mother directly.

"My love? Have you been there for a long time?" asked Dominique, surprised.

"I don't know, where's daddy?" the three-year-old girl asked back.

"Ah Rory" Dom lamented a little, holding her daughter on her lap "he had to leave to work, baby, he's not here now, remember we went to say goodbye to him at the airport?"

"But he was here, wasn't he?" Rory insisted "I thought I saw him."

"Oh honey, he's away now" explained her mother, with fear.

"Oh ..." murmured the girl thoughtfully "and he will be back soon?"

"He won't be back that fast, baby girl" Dominique told the truth "he went to Switzerland, it's a place far away from here and daddy and uncles will have to stay there for a while."

"Really? But I'm going to miss him so much ..." lamented Rory.

"I know, I know" Dom hugged her, "but don't worry, he said we could call."

"Okay then, mom ..." the little girl tried to conform, still sad.

Seeing Rory like this broke Dominique's heart, but she understood her husband's work, and hoped that the children would also understand better, as they grew up.

Roger had left earlier that day, taking a plane to Montreal along with the rest of Queen, there they would finish their next album, which was giving the band something to talk about.

Roger and Brian opposed John's innovative and Freddie-approved idea of making a disco album. For the drummer, the new rhythm simply limited his skills, he had to use half the potential of his instrument and that completely irritated him.

Brian had the same opinion as his best friend, even losing his temper several times, creating a tense atmosphere among the quartet. The fights were intensifying more and more, but when the occasion of the trip arrived, things seemed to have improved. Dominique hoped that everything would go well between them as they finished the album in Montreal.

Returning to her daily routine, Mrs. Taylor went to wake up Felix and tidy up the kids' room while they got ready for the day. Shortly after arranging Rory's pillow on the bed, Dominique found a folded sheet of paper. On top of it was Roger's straight handwriting, _"For Felix and Rory."_ Domi smiled as she realized what her husband had done. She put the note in her pants pocket and went down to the kitchen, serving breakfast to the children.

As soon as the three of them finished their meal, she looked suggestively at her children, with a twinkle in her eye.

"What is it, mom?" Felix was a little suspicious.

"I have a little surprise for you" she announced "I found something special, that I'd like to share with you."

"What is it?" Rory wanted to know, getting excited.

"Well, your dad left a message for you" she showed the note "so let's read it?"

"Yes, let's go!" Felix clapped his hands anxiously.

"Okay" Dominique laughed with excitement "let's see then."

She cleared her throat, unfolded the paper, and started to read. _"Felix, Rory, this is Dad. I'm sorry for having to leave in a hurry and not be able to take you with me. But I want to say something, before I left, I kissed each of your foreheads and said I love you Don't forget that Now, I say it again I love you, because it's true Even though I love you so far, I am sad that I won't be able to return so soon, but every day that I'm away, I'll remember of you two. Ah tell mom that I love her too. Don't forget to call, see you soon! Signed, Daddy! "_

"Ah Rog ..." sighed Dominique, admired and grateful. 

"It's good that he left the letter" commented Rory, a little more comforted, to see all the attention of her father.

It didn't take long for Roger to call and speak to the family. To Dominique's relief, the boys really got along much better in Montreal. So, with the job done, Queen returned home and to their families. Roger was surprised to see Felix and Rory together with his mother at the airport, waiting for him. He hugged his children tightly and filled them with kisses, even tickling their bellies.

"Oh my angels, how I missed you!" he finally said.

"We could have come along, Dad," Rory suggested and her dad gave her a sad smile.

"You know we couldn't go, Rory," Dominique said gently.

"Dom ..." Roger noticed his wife, and sighed her name, passionate and homesick.

He kissed her without hesitation, giving her a tight hug, which Dominique returned, holding him a little longer. They finally went home, Dominique helping Roger to unpack while the children were in the middle, drawing his attention, pulling him by the arms, disturbing their parents' task a little, but they didn't even care, their reaction was totally understanding.

"Okay, okay, keep quiet a little bit" Roger asked between laughs "I have something for you."

Rory and Felix were quiet, waiting to see what would happen. Their father gave them gifts, the two siblings opened everything, tearing the paper at once, and finally, they discovered what they had won.

Felix had his own drumsticks now, which he could beat around, Rory's present was a beautiful rag doll, who had caramel wool hair and violet eyes, wearing a velvet jumpsuit. The girl found her fluffy and soft, hugging her several times because of this.

"How do you say it?" Dominique asked, glad for the joy of her children.

"Thank you, Daddy" Felix and Rory not only thanked, but also hugged and kissed Roger again, and then immediately went out to play.

"Well, that gives us a little more time" Roger smiled at Dominique.

"Your mood is much better" she observed "have you reached an agreement, then?'

"Yes, we understood each other, relatively well" Roger shrugged "at least the mission is accomplished and now let's wait and see."

"And my husband is back" she smiled, snuggling close to him.

"I'm very happy to be back, love" he agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I hope you're enjoying The Missing Piece. I'd like to tell you that this story will get updates on Mondays and Thursdays, so see you next Thursday!


	44. Inspiration

Dominique tried to talk on the phone while watching her children playing in the corridors of her home. It was a weekend, but still, she was busy, solving a problem with her new job.

She was following the production of a new singer's album, and coincidentally, the studio was receiving support from French shareholders. It didn't take long for Dominique to offer to do all the necessary negotiation and that was what she was trying to do, with difficulties in reaching an agreement.

For a moment, the shareholder's lawyer swore so loudly that even Rory and Felix heard it, Dominique was horrified, but continued to be polite and eventually managed to convince the lawyer to bring the shareholder in person to check what was going on.

Mrs. Taylor sighed with relief that she had resolved everything. Later, other things also needed to be taken care of at home. She arranged the children to go out and then looked for her husband around the house, knowing that she would find him in his special room to compose.

Roger looked at her over the glasses that now, over time, needed to be worn more often, and smiled at his wife, who stood there in the crack of the open door.

"I'm going to the market now, okay? I will take the children with me" she warned.

"Okay, Dom, see you later" he nodded.

She smiled and left, heading for the supermarket. Felix helped her to get what she needed, Rory stayed closer to her mother, watching the shelves around her, looking for some candy. Suddenly, when Felix came back from another aisle and came to meet his mother, the supermarket radio started to play, which caught his attention.

"Radio caca!" he commented, remembering the strange word he heard earlier that day.

"What is it, my love?" Dominique didn't quite understand what he had said.

"Radio, the radio is playing" Felix pointed out.

"Yes, it's true" his mother smiled at his perception.

After the task was finished, they returned home. Roger heard them coming and it made him pause in the song he was writing, he had advanced a lot, following the theme that television was overtaking radio, but it would never be forgotten by those who had a special relationship with the media. He went to meet the family, noting that Dominique was curious.

"Is everything alright?" asked Roger.

"Yes, I was just wondering if you made any more progress with the new song and if you can show us" explained Dom "that would help me a little with the work."

"Are those shareholders still picking on you?" Roger knew what his wife was talking about.

"Yeah, they said they don't like Kimberly's style, that she should be a little more modern" Dominique said, tiredly.

"Well, very modern didn't work for us" the drummer still remembered with regret the disaster with the general public that "Hot Space" had caused "but still, I'm trying something new, maybe Kimberly should try some arrangements a little more different."

"Yeah, that's all we can do at the moment, thank you love" Mrs. Taylor smiled at the advice.

Suddenly, Felix ran past them, urging Rory to follow him, while he shouted something strange that his parents understood perfectly, "Radio Caca".

"Hey, little guy, where did you hear that?" Roger wanted to know.

"On the phone" the boy shrugged "Mom was talking to someone who said that."

"Oh my God, the French lawyer, he said the album was a ... Well, caca..." Dom sighed, embarrassed.

"Well, I know what that means" Roger ended up laughing "and that gave me an idea! I'll finish the song and I'll be right back."

"Ok ..." Dominique ended up laughing too.

She prepared dinner and after everyone was served, they could hear Roger's new song for Queen's new album. It was clear that it got the name "Radio Gaga", since he couldn't use the original word that inspired its chorus.

So, not only Roger, but Brian, Freddie and John were committed to writing for their next album. Deaky in turn, had surprised everyone again, with his "I Want to Break Free". The song had pleased his bandmates and, after it was recorded, it was decided that it would receive a clip, all that remained to be decided was how it would be.

There were several ideas, the boys acting as prisoners and escaping from prison, or they running in a forest, but none of the ideas seemed right. During this period, Dominique noticed her husband worried about this detail. Since working as a producer had helped to sharpen her creativity more and more, she started to think of an idea for the video too, and suddenly, doing something as simple as watching a soap opera, the perfect idea came to Dominique.

"Rog, do you know the video for "Break Free"?" she commented to her husband "you could do a parody of Coronation Street."

"What? The soap opera? What does one thing have to do with the other?" he was instigated.

"Well, it's the story of women trying to fight the oppressive system, nothing better than that to express freedom" Dom elaborated "you could dress like the protagonists ..."

-"You mean, dressing as a woman?" Roger could hardly believe it.

"That's it ..." Dominique ended up laughing just thinking.

"Yeah, this is kind of weird, but if we want to draw attention and make publicity ..." pondered Roger "let's see what the boys think."

And when the idea was presented, there was a natural initial shock reaction, but even so, it was accepted in the end, and everyone involved ended up having too much fun for it. Chrissie even confessed to Dominique that seeing Brian dressed in a nightgown and with curlers in his hair made her laugh.

Unfortunately, because Dominique was busy working, she was unable to check the recording of the clip, but she checked it first hand when it was ready. Seeing her charming and dashing Roger as a little girl in high school made her laugh too, everything had gotten better than she had expected.

Of course, the idea didn't please everyone, something she was learning in her new job, that not everything that was created pleased everyone, but it was still worth putting her artistic vision into practice.


	45. A sudden fight

Rory was the first to pay attention when her father came home. That day, she and Felix were in Roger's care until a phone call interrupted them, and he had to leave in a hurry, leaving the kids without understanding anything, only that it had something to do with Uncle Freddie.

Before leaving, Roger waited for Charlie to arrive and while the children stayed with her, he went to see what Freddie needed to talk to him and the rest of the band. The way the drummer had come back from the meeting, it hadn't been a good thing. Roger's bad temper and restrained anger was noticed by Charlie, who soon worried about him.

"Are you okay, Mr. Taylor?" she asked before leaving.

"Yes, everything is great" he forced a smile "thanks for coming Charlie, we settle the payment tomorrow."

"Okay, bye" she said goodbye, leaving soon after.

Felix and Rory looked at their father a little confused, he was not at all well.

"Play with us, Daddy?" Felix invited, and took him by the hand.

"Of course, what do you want to play with?" Roger joined in the joke.

"Drums" asked Rory, excitedly.

"Oh no, daughter" Roger replied with the opposite of her spirits "how about we make mud cake, huh? Only if you take a shower before Mom comes."

"Okay" Rory and Felix agreed, going to play in the yard, as their father had suggested.

Soon the game distracted the children and their father managed to hide his anger, but deep down, he wanted to go back to Freddie's house and say a few more things to his friend. All this confusion had started because of him, after all, signing a solo contract without consulting the band before, it was a tremendous betrayal and Roger's comfort was that Brian and John felt the same way.

Everything seemed uncertain, it was as Queen was lying in the gutter and there was no prediction of when it would come back again. A little more of Roger's anger passed when he helped the children to bathe and dress. Dominique found them in front of the TV, Felix and Rory entertained, Roger, with an unsatisfacted face and furrowed brows.

First of all, she hugged and kissed her children, glad to finally be able to see them after a long day at work. Then it was Roger's turn, she kissed her husband's cheek gently, which at least brought out a slight smile of relief from him.

"What's the matter, love?" Dominique had realized the obvious that something was bothering him.

"How do I tell you that?! I just know that I'm so angry, so angry!" He rubbed a hand over his face and snorted.

"Why?" she touched his face, patient.

"Freddie will record two solo albums, without having any more plans for us at the moment" Roger managed to say.

"You mean he broke up with the band?" Dominique was amazed "but wait a minute, this is temporary, right? I mean, it has to be, it can only be."

"So, that's the problem, we don't know if the band broke up or not" Roger replied "the worst thing is that Freddie treated us with disdain, regardless of everything we've done so far, as if he suddenly needed some time and decided alone that we also need a break."

"Okay, everything is very uncertain" she had to agree, getting sad "I think you will have to wait to see what will happen."

"Yeah, and hold on to not beat Freddie or Paul" he blurted out, along with a little more anger.

"Roger!" she scolded her husband, sincerely hoping that he wouldn't take this type of attitude.

She ended up hugging him, in an attempt to calm him down, which worked for the moment.

As the months went by and there was no more news about Queen, but about Freddie's solo work, the media began to speculate about the band's outcome. Phones kept ringing between Queen's staff, newspapers, magazines and TV eager for concrete answers, but even Brian, John, Roger or Miami didn't have that.

Taylor himself had to dodge the same reporter several times, who was eager to get an exclusive interview with the drummer. Finally, Dominique saw all of her husband's distress, trying to imagine how he was feeling with all of this. All she could do was give hugs, kisses, advice, lead Roger to believe that all this was just a bad phase and that they would fix it all.

Again, the same reporter urged Jim Beach for answers and an interview. Roger took pity on his poor agent and lawyer, who had so often done everything to defend the boys, now it would be his turn to return all kindness.

Fern Hicks came to the Taylors' house at the appointed time, Dominique received him with all the warmth, but deep down, wanting to apply one of her old pranks to him for all the anger that he made her husband feel. Dom ended up holding back, after all, she wanted the interview to work and finally the media would give them a little peace.

"Mr. Hicks, we finally see each other, after so much insistence on your part" Roger shook his hand tightly, smiling impatiently.

"And it looks like it was worth it, Mr. Taylor" replied the reporter, with a touch of audacity "since you're in a hurry and I don't want to waste my time either, let's get right to work. Queen's last work was great, enough to recover us from the horrific "Hot Space", so I imagine that all silence in the band now refers to some creative block, or super secret work?"

"A little bit of both, let's say so" Roger scratched his neck absently "I think you know, my dear Hicks, that a good album takes time and that's what we're doing, using the time to think about new compositions."

"So this story that Queen is breaking up because of Freddie Mercury's solo work is just a meaningless rumor?" Fern asked.

"For my part" Roger anticipated, trying to get rid of the question so direct "there is no confirmed separation, just because Freddie decided to do something new doesnt mean that we won't work together again."

That seemed to convince Fern Hicks, the reporter made some notes about what Roger said, but he himself was trying to convince himself that what he had said would actually happen. Hicks left, leaving the drummer alone, except for the desire to get away from it all by keeping him company. An idea crossed his mind, and he hoped Dominique would support him in putting it into practice.


End file.
